


Fast Cars & Freedom

by SimplyTsundere



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Car Racing, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Boys in Skirts, Car Detailer Jean, College Kid Eren, Criminal Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Eren Owns A Gym, Everyone is sassy, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Happy Ending, High Heels, Illegal Activities, Initial Attraction, Levi Is Bad At Feelings, Light Angst, M/M, Mechanic Levi, Panic Attacks, Personal Trainers Marco & Mikasa, Recreational Drug Use, Seminole Marco, Street Racing, eren is a blushing mess, lace fetish
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-07-24 04:13:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 121,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7493409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimplyTsundere/pseuds/SimplyTsundere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's no kind of high quite like an adrenaline high, at least that's what street racers would say. The thunder of horses beneath a hood, the roar of the spectators, the sound of tires on asphalt, the money, but the glory; the glory and the high are the best parts of racing. Insert Eren Jaeger whose parents were killed thanks to two racers on the freeway ignoring all safety rules and parameters. With his mass fear of speed and deep seeded hatred for racers, Eren has gone as far as to blame most of Tampa's crime on people like racers. His college thesis is revolving around the world he knows little to nothing about - until he gets dragged into the world to experience it all first hand. His eyes cannot leave the attractive man who enters his family bequeathed gym. Fate is fickle: causing Eren to crash his car, at the hands of a furry guest, leading him to no other than that very man's mechanic shop. His world will flip upside down when he sees things he shouldn't and is roped into the man's circuit as his errand boy. Will Eren's opinion change as he works closely with this man and his team? Maybe he'll find more than he was looking for in the face of high speed and thrilling danger in the world of illegal street racing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last new work posting for a little bit! I know, this one is also a little dusty but it's the shortest right now with only 6 finished chapters. Updates will be once a month or every other month due to my hand's conditions. Mechanic Levi and Street Racer Levi are two things my soul has needed for a long time so I hope you guys will enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing it. After the 6th chapter is released my ability to update it will slow, but I promise all my stories shall be completed. Inspiration just doesn't always strike for certain stories for a while so be patient with me and my shitty carpal tunnel hands! Without further ado, enjoy the world of SnK/AoT street racers and gym rats.
> 
> Cheers,  
> ♤ ♥ Neko ♥ ♤

Once again Eren was stuck behind the counter while everyone else was in their own respective areas of the gym. Being the owner and manager of the gym wasn't all it was cracked up to be; it just meant the most responsibility, doing all the maintenance, and keeping up with the books and payroll. Everyone else got to pretty much fuck off while he was stuck doing almost every piece of foreseeable paperwork to grace the building. While his two personal trainers were busy with clients he was putting on his fake smile and welcoming the people coming and going for free reign of the gym's equipment. Looking up at the bell on the door rang, Eren made brief eye contact with the man that came in every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. His piercing steel blue eyes met his for a fleeting a second tugging at Eren's chest as he made a curt nod and walked off to the left.

Eren didn't know the man's name, only that whenever he came in he couldn't help but stare which he attributed to the fact that he possessed an intense aura. The man always had a hunter green duffel bag slung over his shoulder containing his workout clothes. He came in wearing sweats and walked out of the locker room wearing a skin tight, sleeveless Under Armour shirt with a pair of matching black basketball shorts and most of the time he kept his hands wrapped or he was wearing black, padded, fingerless gloves. He stayed for several hours, changing between the treadmill, weight lifting, going to the pool, and staying at the punching bags. His small stature first threw him off, as he was around 5'5" compared to him at being 5' 10" and being 23 years old. There were many differences between the two of them but he couldn't help but underestimate him the first time he had come into the gym.

His membership pass had been faded and worn with the laminate peeling off around the edges meaning that he had to have signed up when his mother and father owned and ran the place. It had been a while since he saw anyone come in with such an old pass, but he never even had the courage to talk to him and ask him if he wanted a new one. Words failed him whenever the enchanting stranger was around. At first he attributed it his seemingly cold, intimidating aura but once he saw a smile grace his face he no longer thought that, instead he figured his failing mind was because of how stunning he was. His pale skin, contrasted to his straight, jet black hair, and the steely blue eyes were that of a picture _perfect_ movie star.

After several months of working behind the counter and seeing him four times a week he made sure to only stare a few times, but he could still never muster the courage to speak to him or even meet his gaze longer than a second or two, another problem with being easily flustered. He only managed to give him a smile when he walked in and when he left. It seemed that the man probably wouldn't speak to him anyway, as every time he was there he kept an arm band on and a pair of earbuds in so even if he spoke chances were he wouldn't have been heard. Girls would often approach him to ask him something and he would unplug one headphone grin, and continue on with his workout as the girls practically fell over themselves. Eren’s sister, who was a personal trainer there, had to make sure that her clients kept focused on what they were supposed to be doing and not on the stranger whom she dubbed "The Gentleman Gymrat."

The name made Eren laugh a bit, but he wouldn't have gone as far to call him a gym rat since he didn't come in everyday, nor was he the overbearing type of meat-head that came in from time to time. While he was working on the payroll got an email from his college adviser asking about his senior thesis. He had been so swamped with work, and staring at the man, he had forgotten about all about his thesis, so he had to inform her that he would probably be a bit behind until he caught up at the gym. Luckily, everyone had been very understand about his predicament with the fact he ran the gym and was still finding time to finish his degree. It was his last year, and it would be done by the beginning of May so he still had a while to complete the thesis.

After corresponding to the email he looked up from the computer to see "The Gentleman Gymrat" leaving, so he tossed him a warm smile as he left. For the first time, the man responded with something other than his signature nod: he smiled and raised two fingers over his head. His hair had barely dried, leaving beads of water to roll down his alabaster skin, which didn't go unnoticed by Eren. He was snapped out of his trance, by none other than his adopted sister, Mikasa. Her sharp tongue brought him out of the realm of fantasy and into the realm of reality as he looked over to see her with her arms folded over her chest.

"If you're going to stare at him Eren, at least have the courage to go talk to him. It's been months and you still can't talk to him? At least the girls have the courage," she rolled her eyes as she spoke with an obvious disdain for the man, oozing more than an acrid air.

Eren scoffed "Well, excuse me, Mikasa. Some of us would rather dream, I mean, gays are more accepted these days but guys generally don't enjoy being hit on by other guys. Do you see him? I don't think he'd take it well."

As he ended his sentence, his old friend, and the resident dietitian approached the counter "She's right though, what could it hurt? He doesn't seem to bad, from the times I talked to him. I say go for it, Eren. He is a bit intimidating but so is Mikasa. Buck up a little, huh? Stop blaming it on the fact he might not take it well and start blaming it on your lack of guts."

His bright blue eyes gleamed with hope as he pushed his shoulder length,golden hair behind his ear while Eren scowled "Oh, yeah, thanks guys why didn't ever think of trying to talk to him?! Oh that's because my mouth doesn't fucking work in front of him, I can't even look at him without feeling a crushing feeling in my chest. Now that that's outta the way we've got about ten minutes before close so make sure everyone's out and start wiping down the equipment. Mikasa, do you mind locking up tonight? I have to get back to the house and start working on my thesis."

She shook her head and took the keys from his palm "No, I don't mind. I think this week you should let me close and you can go home early to work on it. It's too important to just keep blowing off so get something done alright?"

Smiling, he stepped over to her and hugged her before grabbing his laptop and sliding it into his bad "Thanks, love you two. See ya later, Armin. Tell Freckles I said I'll see him tomorrow."

Chuckling, he headed out of the building and headed over to his car. The black paint made it a bit hard to find when it was almost at the darkest part of the night, but he always parked in the same spot couple that with the fact it was a rather small parking lot meant never losing his car. Once he got into the driver's seat, he buckled his seatbelt, felt a bit of a breeze and looked up noticing that he had left the sunroof open. After shutting the sunroof and thanking a higher power that it hadn't rained, he headed off to his house which was unfortunately quite a drive away from the gym.

Halfway home, he turned the radio up as loud it would go, letting his speakers bump against the car, essentially vibrating the entire vehicle. After a couple minutes he thought that he began hearing a sound that he could only describe as chattering coming from somewhere in the backseat. Lowering the volume of the radio he kept driving but listened carefully until he heard the sound again, which was much louder and closer to him. He was driving along a straight, rather barren stretch of road when the mysterious maker of noise had revealed itself. It was a short, brown flash darting from one side of the car from the other. Whatever it was was starting to go into a frenzy, bouncing back and forth, eventually finding Eren in the process.

Claws dug into his skin causing him to swerve on the road, but it hadn't stopped, the culprit was now in the floorboards scratching up his legs. The brown streak wound up, scaling his legs and running up his body, nails piercing his flesh as it ran up his chest, neck, and face. Not able to see where he was going he swerved off the road, hitting the first the object in the way of his car. The impact of the small car hitting the telephone pole jarred him forward, then back into his seat hard enough to take his breath. The seat belt luckily saved him from going through the now busted windshield, however it left a bruise across his collarbone. He knew that if he hadn't been already slowing down it would have been a lot worse.

It took him a several minutes to regain his breath, along with his cognitive abilities. His mind was in a panicked state, almost going to the point of hyperventilating. He couldn't focus on what had just happened, the only thing he could do was wince as he took a deep breath. The first thing, he managed to do was to push open the passenger door, thinking that whatever was in the car still needed to get out, but when his vision cleared he looked up on the dash to see the lifeless body of a young squirrel. It had hit the windshield head first leaving a short smear of it's blood on the windshield just above it. Eren shakily reached over to the passenger seat fumbling as he searched his bag for his phone. Calling the first number he thought of, he waited on his friend to answer knowing that he was on duty, heaving a sigh of relief when the rough voice came through the speaker.

"Eren, do you know what time it is? What's up?" His voice had the same sarcastic tone as it always held making him feel a bit better.

Straining to speak, he cleared his throat trying to sound as fine as possible "Reiner...I know it's late, but you're on duty right? I need you to come out to 3 Briars Road. It's dark, I can't see too well, but last I remember I was a few minutes from Bebber's Corner Store."

There was concern laced in his voice as it softened "Eren...listen to me, are you okay? I'm on my way, okay, just stay on the phone."

He couldn't help but laugh at how frantic he sounded near the end of his sentence, and knowing he was worried as he hear sirens cut on in the background "I'm alright, just some scratches and bruises most likely. I'm not too banged up so I don't need an ambulance or anything."

"It's protocol, Eren, we have to get you checked out. Go ahead and tell me what happened," some of his words were drowned out by the sounds of the sirens but he pieced together his sentence pretty well.

"Stupid protocol...You can't laugh at me...I uh, I killed a squirrel..." there was a slight chuckle after he spoke, pushing his trembling hand to his aching head.

Reiner's voice inflected "What?! Seriously? I'll be there in about 5 minutes."

Eren winced as he tried to rearrange himself in the seat "Haha, yeah, whatever. I think it got into my car when I left the sunroof open. I think I can see the lights of your car but it's just a tad bit fuzzy."

He was certainly seeing the blue and red flashing lights of a police car as it rapidly approached the scene of the accident. Ending the call, he dropped the phone into his bag and couldn't help but try to get out of the car which had been a larger mistake than he had guessed. The world spun on it's axis as he got up too quickly, smearing his vision with various swirls of red and blue from both the police car and a few lights from the ambulance not far behind him. Once he heard the car door slam he turned his head to see a tall, well built man with short blonde hair in a navy blue police uniform smiling at him.

"Geez, Jaeger, you look like _shit_. Let's get you outta there, and have Neil take a look at you," leaning into the busted car he unbuckled Eren's seatbelt and drug him from the car.

Eren would have complained but everything was spinning and he couldn't walk very well so Reiner practically carried him over to the back of the ambulance where a balding man, in his early 40's began tending to the various wounds scattered over his body. The sirens, the sound of the fiberglass frame crunching as it hit the wooden pole reminded him all too well of the accident that killed his parents. A couple of punks street racing had taken over the whole stretch of the highway and got into an accident when they tried to outrun the cops, weaving through traffic. They had clipped the front end of his parent's car, throwing them into a spin and off the road into the nearest guardrail, throwing his father out of the windshield and trapping his mother inside, pinning her legs as she bled out from a cut through her femoral artery.

He had been lucky, he was only 12 at the time, and had been in the backseat properly strapped in. A gnarly gash across his neck, and a broken collarbone were the only things he escaped with, leaving his uncle to take care of both him and his sister. Every time he saw police lights it reminded him of the crash, an ambulance siren or even the scrape of metal would bring back all the horrific memories of having to watch his mother die without being able to help. If those stupid punk ass kids hadn't been street racing it would have never happened and he'd still have his parents. There was a deep seeded hatred for the idiots that thought things like that were a good idea, but they lived in Tampa, Florida and street racing was pretty common.

While the man began bandaging his wounds, he had been spacing out, returning to the crash in his head. Only his friend tapping him on the shoulder brought him out of it. Reiner gestured towards the car so once he was finished being treated he very easily stepped out of the ambulance and walked over to the front of the vehicle. He had required some help to stay steady but at least he wasn't shaking as badly as he had been earlier, when he decided to call Reiner. They looked at the damage done to the car and he knew there was no way he even be able to drive it home, if he would even be allowed to drive which he knew that he wouldn't be.

"So...I guess I can't drive it huh. Guess it's time to call a tow truck," Eren leaned against a tree as he stared at the mangled front end of his car.

Reiner nodded "I'll drive you home, you're _lucky_ I didn't call your sister about this, but that means you gotta tell her yourself. I have a friend who can tow the car, I'll have him take it to the same place we take the department cars. You know CAM Auto right? It's right down the street from you, don't worry, they're really good, and fairly decent people so long as you don't go pissing off either of the owners. Come on, I'll help you to the car," Eren agreed and headed over to the patrol car with some assistance along the way. It was almost midnight, so he knew that no one would be able to get the car until the morning so in order to get to the gym he'd need to call Mikasa. The last thing he wanted to do was tell her that he had been involved in a car accident over a squirrel but he knew if he didn't the outcome would be much worse than it was already going to be.

After thanking Reiner for the ride home, he opened the door to the four bedroom, two bath house that that he had grown up in. He had just moved back in last year, but all the memories were still etched into the walls, bringing back memories every time he stepped through the door. The house had been left to him when his uncle died, the man that had raised both him and his sister when his parents died. He had been running the gym from a distance for a long time but eventually hired someone else to run it for him as his health decreased. The house had been rented out to help pay for bills but the last tenant's lease ended a month before he passed away, leaving it empty until Eren returned to Florida.

He had been away in Illinois for several years since he graduated high school early. Attending one of the best business schools in the nation, his time was always spent buried in books trying to actually do something with his life, proving to everyone that he was more than he used to be. His sister was working towards her degree as a dietitian, and her certification as a personal trainer so he decided to take over his parent's gym but he wanted to be able to run it well and make them proud. Business school seemed like the logical step in the process, so he went to school and worked hard, but his junior year his uncle died leaving him the house and half the gym to be split ownership with his sister.

When he returned to Florida, he agreed to take online classes to continue classes while trying to take over running the gym. The gym seemed to be turning a nice profit every month so he was running it well, with his sister's help. There were even new members which gave him a sense of pride as most other gyms in the area had shut down. He felt the friendly, calm, inviting atmosphere and new machines, along with the pool, was some of the things that kept them in business. Either way, he was just thankful that something was actually looking up, because the tuition for his college was outlandish but it didn't have to be paid for the final semester until January.

Once he got upstairs to the bathroom, he took a look in the mirror, examining all the places that had been bandaged. It shocked him to see all the small white pads covering his skin. He couldn't remember hitting his head, but by his right temple there was a small bandage, along with several light grazes on the side of his neck which he assumed was from the squirrel. Overall, he felt like he looked fine, but knew his sister would be thinking he looked far from fine. There were light rust patterns still faintly showing on his skin as such an event had still left his heart racing and he hadn’t remembered to wipe the dried blood from his skin. After calming down and brushing his teeth, he decided to go straight to bed and leaving taking a shower for when the room stopped spinning.

Laying down in bed was hard, as when he laid down all his aches began to announce their presence. Wincing on every turn, he finally found one spot which was comfortable enough to send him into a very light slumber. He ended up waking up several times throughout the night, but he managed to fall asleep after a few minutes of lying still. When it was a decent hour and he figured Mikasa was awake, he decided to call her and ask for a ride to the gym so he could open it. She asked why, and he reluctantly explained everything leaving him with an earful about how he should have been more careful, he should have gone to the hospital, he should have called then and there, before she finally asked if he was okay.

Explaining there were only a few bangs and bruises, and a splitting headache to worry about, he announced that he was overall in perfect health. She sighed into the receiver and agreed that she'd pick him up and take him to work until his car got fixed. Thanking her, he hung up and decided to get ready for work, going to take a tepid shower, knowing that if he made it too hot he'd probably get dizzy and he'd fall and hurt himself. Making sure to lessen the accumulation of heat he kept the bathroom door open letting out any steam from when he first turned on the hot water. Once he got it to the right temperature he got in and pushed the stall open, noticing even then it was getting a little too warm.

After his shower he got dressed and awaited the arrival of his sister, who pretty much forced him to agree to not doing anything until he felt better. It made him a feel a bit odd not being able to do anything. While she was busy with a client he was going to sneak out of the building and walk down the road to the mechanic Reiner said he was taking the car to. He would have to leave someone at the front counter to greet people and make sure they scanned their membership cards, or be there in case someone needed something. Just as he thought about it, he had the perfect person but he'd have to make sure he wouldn't tell Mikasa which would be hard since they had all been friends.

As he was thinking of ways to prevent that there was a knock at the door before it was pushed open and his sister practically flew to him "Eren! You stupid idiot! I'm so glad you're okay. What the hell is wrong with you?!"

He could only laugh as she bounced between emotions, making his head swirl "Mika, I'm fine, but I won't be if you keep hugging me this tight and bouncing so fast between happy and pissed. Apparently I smacked my head pretty hard so I've got a concussion but I only slept for a few hours at a time. I was patched up my EMS so don't worry I was looked after, and Reiner was the one that responded. He told me he was going to call you but I wanted to be the one to tell you, enough of that though, let's just get to work alright?"

Her eyes narrowed as she put her hands to both sides of his face and looked him over "Uh huh, sure. I'm _not_ letting you do anything other than watch the front door, I don't even want you doing the books, alright? Leave everything alone until you're better. I'll have Armin come help you if he's not busy with a client. Come on," he nodded and headed off to work, getting into the car with sister after locking the door. The day was going to be more than interesting so he began preparing for how to sneak away. She already said she was going to try to have Armin help him and what other way could he help him other than covering for him when he walked out of the gym.

They arrived a little later than normal but the only people awaiting them were the staff so it wasn't much trouble other than everyone gawking at Eren as he opened the doors. No one really moved when he opened the doors as they were all too busy being awe struck at Eren's appearance. It wasn't often they got to see him looking so casual in a pair of navy basketball shorts and a light grey v-neck t-shirt. Before moving through the doors he sighed and turned his attention to everyone. Mikasa was crossing her arms as everyone waited for an explanation, but he knew it was only because they were worried about him.

"Guys, I'm fine alright. Just a little fender bender now let's get to work," putting on a fake smile, he smiled ear to ear and walked into the building.

As he went behind the counter Armin came up to him "Hey, Eren, are you sure you're alright? You never come to work looking like you're actually here to workout."

Right behind him an old acquaintance, and his second personal trainer, made a passing comment with a hearty chuckle "Well good, maybe he'll fix those chicken legs while he's here. Seriously though, Eren, get feeling better okay? Also, the leg press is open."

Eren made sure there were no customers before flipping him off as he saw him flashing him a cheeky grin "Ha ha, Marco, very funny, but no thank you. Hey, Armin, I need a favor...."

Armin's expression changed into that of worry "Oh no....what is it Eren?"

"Just go with me, alright? I need you to watch the counter for a bit while I go out. It won't take long and Mikasa has a client coming in in about 20 minutes so take over then? Please?" He added a light pout knowing that his friend was weak to it.

Sighing he nodded "Fine, fine, but if you're not back and she catches me, I'm spilling my guts. You know I can't _stand_ it when she stares at me like that."

Wrapping his arm around his friend's shoulders he grinned "Thanks, Armin, you're the best." Stomping off, Armin whispered something under his breath but Eren didn't bother to listen as he began to plan his escape plan. It didn't take him long to figure it all out and work out every detail, aside from how long it would take. He looked up the shop on Google just seeing about how long their estimates normally took but it didn't help him in the slightest. The reviews seemed to be pretty good though, so he figured it was an alright place to go, especially if Reiner let them touch his cars which were like his children. He heard the bell on the door chime as Mikasa's 9am showed up so he grinned mischievously and began making sure he could scoot away.

Just as Armin rounded the corner he smiled, nodded, and headed out the front doors as Armin looked more than just a bit dejected taking his seat behind the counter. Without a second backwards glance Eren was rounding the block and walking down the road heading towards the mechanic's shop. Checking his phone he got the message from Reiner that his friend had just brought the car over to the shop so it couldn't have come at a better time. Smiling at the news, he pushed his phone back into his pocket and crossed the busy street to get over and walk up the driveway to the large building.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeeyyyyyy! So I hear y'all are loving this AU! Great! Just for the love it's been getting it'll be updated in 2 weeks! I hope you enjoy your first peek at sexy, grungy mechanic Levi ;)) and the fanart of him from cupcakelevi AKA Kagekii of tumblr AKA my Sunshine.
> 
> ~Cheers,  
> ♤ ♥ Neko ♥ ♤

It surprised him a bit as he walked up on the garage, it was a lot bigger than he figured than it would be. Several cars were already out in the parking lot and the cacophony of various sounds from power tools filled the surrounding air. He saw the tow truck and paid the guy in cash before approaching the slate grey building, pulling open the glass door into the waiting area. Overall the place had a rather good atmosphere, but it was rather busy so he walked over to the leather seating on the left of the room instead of standing by the counter top that the stretched the length of the room. Circular leather bar stools lined the bar as people were being served and spoken to. It seemed like a rather large function but he could tell most of them were just there to do the office work so the people at the counter were probably just finishing up.

As he started walking over to the leather sofa and lounging area a man of about his height, with shaggy sandy blonde hair and pale blue eyes waved him over to the counter. He was wearing a uniform shirt with his name on it, reading Church on his embroidered name tag. The man shot him a warm, professional smiled as Eren sauntered up to the counter ready to answer what was wrong with his car. Instead of answering what was wrong with his car, he was asked a completely different question.

"Good morning, which car is yours?" He raised an inquiring eyebrow as he looked out the window. Eren rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and the guy immediately laughed knowing which he car was his "Hahaha, ah, the one on the tow truck I assume? Let's go have a looksee at it."

His laugh was lighthearted so he felt a bit better but he still knew that it would be bad. Turning around he walked out the front door with the man on his heels and headed over to the car as it was pulled up on the truck. The man walked around looking at it and grimacing as he spotted a new piece of damage. Eren folded his arms over his chest awaiting the bad news that he knew was coming.

"Alright, I know it's bad, what's the damage?" As he spoke the man looked back at him with a less than hopeful expression.

His expression changed into a toothy grin "Well, you should be asking what isn’t damaged because that would be a much shorter list. I need to have one of my mechanics look at it, excuse me, HEY SHORTY!!!!"

His scream took him off guard as he shrank back a bit from the volume "Oww. I know it's bad, but I was wondering about an estimate."

"That's what he's for, if his lazy ass'll get out here,” he paused as he gestured toward the shop as another shrill scream escaped his lips “GET OUT HERE!"

From the garage, the loud, reverberating clang of metal hitting concrete sounded in the air followed by another yell "WHAT FARLAN?!!!"

A man began walking out of the garage in an obvious huff as he pulled a towel from his back pocket, wiping his hands over with it. Eren froze where he stood when the man lifted his head, recognizing him as the handsome stranger that came into the gym. His hair, face, clothes and almost everything was streaked with grease smears and his dark slate grey uniform was unzipped to his waist with the arms tied at his hips leaving him in just a thin, white tanktop. The closer he got the more Eren felt his face getting hot and his words faltered in his mind before they even had a chance to falter in his mouth. He walked up, running a hand through the sweat soaked strands of hair framing his sharp featured face as he stood opposite Eren.

"I need you to take a look at this car for me," the man gestured to Eren's car then turned to him and offered his hand "forgive me, my name is Farlan Church, I'm one of the owners here. I don't think I know you so you've never been here."

Eren shook his head as he shook his outstretched hand "Oh, uh, Eren Jaeger and no, I haven't. I just moved here a year ago, never had any car problems before now."

Hearing a scoff from behind him the man laughed "Haha, Farlan, I don't see a car. I see a hunk of _scrap_ I have to turn back into a car. I'm good but _goddamn_."

Farlan rolled his eyes "You're head mechanic right?"

"Whatever," he grumbled and wiped his hands off once again as he turned to Eren while bent down inspecting the car This was a nice car once upon a time, but she's pretty rough. What'd you do to her kid?"

Stammering Eren shrugged nervously "I uh, uh, hit a t-telephone pole a few hours ago."

Trying to hide his slight smile the man stood and cocked his head to the side "And _how_ did you manage that? You don't look drunk to me, just a bit banged up."

"Uh....there was, uh, a squirrel...in my car. It went nuts and I drove off the road. Most of the scratches on me are less from the crash and more from the squirrel," Eren turned his face away, as he made momentary eye contact with him.

" _Seriously_? Damn kid. Ever heard of this thing called pulling over before it comes to that? You ruined a car worth thousands of dollars for a bushy tailed _rat_. Now, that damned rodent is gonna cost you a pretty penny because all this damage isn't gonna be cheap to fix. If I can even fix it," he put a hand to his brow, and went back to poking around at the seriously dented in front end.

Eren sighed "It was dark and I was tired okay, not to mention I had a squirrel trying to scale me like Mt. Everest. I _know_ it's not gonna be cheap, but can you give me an estimate?"

"I can, let's see, it's '06 Civic Si Coupe right? You need a new front bumper, new hood, new windshield, new headlight, new driver front tire, the fender has to be fixed plus it all has to be painted. You really screwed the pooch here kid, in just what I can see parts and labor you're looking at the around $4,700, but that's also hoping nothing else got fucked up under the hood. Might just be better to buy a new car," the tone was stern but it seemed like he was being honest with him.

"I don't really have much of a choice in that department. How long would it take?" Eren stared past him, words no longer failing, but still cautious of staring into the piercing eyes.

"Hmm, a couple weeks. I'm pretty swamped. Farlan, Eld can manage the framework and bang out the dents, and Gunther can order the parts from T.M if we need any,” he turned his attention from Farlan back to Eren, “at the earliest 2 weeks, at the most, a 6 to 7 weeks. Probably not want you wanna hear but we've got 5 mechanics and four of them are specialized. Farlan, if he wants to do this why don't you take him in and start the paperwork while I get this piece of _current_ scrap up and see where I have to start."

Farlan nodded "Alright, you really want to have us fix us, because we can scrap it if you'd rather, use the cash for a new car?"

Turning to the man Eren resolved himself to stare briefly into his glacial eyes before turning away "Fix it."

Nodding, he stepped into Eren's personal space, looking up to him with a toothy grin " _Congratulations,_ that's the first time you've been able to look me in the eyes and actually _speak_. Take him in Farlan, I got work to do."

Eyes growing wide Eren stared back at him in dismay "Uh....yeah..."

Still obviously dumbfounded from the comment he stood frozen as he walked off still not knowing his name. Farlan just laughed and patted him on the back as they walked off. The way he had been so calm actually freaked him out a little bit, he just said it so casually. He knew he stared at him the whole time but he never said a word to him, what exactly was his game? Brushing it off for the time being he went in to sign some paperwork and pay some of the work of the car. He had enough in his savings to cover it all. From what was in his savings, not to mention what he inherited, he had just enough but he didn't want to use it all. Most of it had been saved over a long while and he still had a large tuition bill.

When he left, he waved and walked off back to the gym completely forgetting how long he had been gone. The walk only took him fifteen minutes but he didn't think he had been gone longer than an hour. In real time he had been gone almost 2 hours and that meant that when he got back he was going to hear about it. Pulling his phone out once he was in the parking lot he made sure to text Reiner and thank him. He happened to catch a glimpse of the time and sprinted into the building hoping that he would make it back before Mikasa noticed his absence. There weren't many times Eren had hoped right, and this wasn't one either, as soon as he stood in front of the door he saw Mikasa with her arms crossed over her chest standing at his desk, eyes flashing.

Swallowing hard, he pulled open the door and walked up to her "Listen, I went to check on the car. It's just down the stree-"

He was cut off by her hugging him tightly whispering into his ear "You asshole! You scared the shit out of me, Armin said you weren't gone long so that's the only reason I'm _not_ throttling you right now."

"I thought that was because I'm injured, but thank you for being worried. I'm fine though, my wallet isn't going to be though. It's gonna cost a small fortune to have the car fixed and it's gonna eat through what I've got saved up," squirming free of his sister's threatening embrace, he moved back behind the desk letting Armin go back to his office.

Mikasa frowned and ruffled his hair "We'll figure it out, Eren, we always do. I know you don't want to use what you got from Uncle David but you might have to. Tuition isn't due for a bit so maybe with how much the gym has been making we can pay for it with that."

Pushing his head into his hands he sighed "Yeah....maybe, but at the least it's gonna run $4,700. I can't even begin to understand where the money is going to come from for tuition, scholarships and grants are pushing it right now. Don't get me wrong a degree from Northwestern would be amazing but I don't think I can finish it, not like this."

Her embrace was one of comfort and love rather than that of an intimidating threat "I'm sorry Eren. We'll have to see what's happening, why don't you just get a new car with the money it would take to fix it?"

"Because I don't want another car, you don't even know the sentiment attached to that car, Mika. You really...really _don't_ want to know why either. Oh, and guess what? Your _favorite_ patron is my mechanic. I still didn't catch his name but he knows I stare," Eren tried to hide the flush rising to his face but his sister pinched his reddening cheek.

Laughing as he tried to move away she smiled "Haha, well, it's hard to not notice. He's the reason you don't want to scrap it, isn't it? Damn it, Eren, seriously fall for someone else, _anyone._ Hell, fall for _Marco_ for all I care, but why does it have to be him?"

"Really? No, Marco’s cute but he can kiss my ass. It _has_ to be him, he's stunning, and his smile could end wars and cure cancer. He looks so menacing until he smiles, puppies cry when he smiles Mika, it's that amazing. Don't make me explain anything else I'm thinking, please," a sly smirk curved his lips.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust "Ewww, Eren he's like 5 foot of bitch, but whatever, like whoever you want. Just be careful please, I have a client in a half an hour so I'm gonna go. Love you," he smiled and waved as she walked off heading back into the gym.

He figured as much as he wanted to get something done he needed to look over the books and figure out the money situation. It was going to be very difficult, considering just how much money was going to be needed, almost $17,000 out of pocket for his college by January to pay off the rest of what was owed before he could graduate. There was enough pressure on his shoulders to crush a skyscraper for how he was going to get it. Another loan would push him past the point of no return when he got out of school, he was already having high payments as it was, the last thing he needed was to add another one on top of it.

Just another downpour of rain in the endless month of April and he was getting really tired of waiting for his May flowers. They say when it rains it pours and he was more than agreeing to that sentiment. It can't rain all the time, sunshine will come and flowers will bloom in the face of adversity was another saying but he had yet to see that one. He couldn't find anymore places to pinch the books as he went over them time and time again. Pulling at his own his hair, utterly defeated he leaned back into his chair and stared up at the ceiling wishing an answer to his problems would just land in his lap, but unfortunately, he knew the world didn't work like that.

After an excruciatingly long day that seemed to drag on forever, he was finally able to go home. Mikasa brought him home after the two made their rounds in the gym and locked up. While he was thankful for her being so good to him he couldn't help but find her a bit overbearing at times. They weren't kids anymore, he didn't need to be looked after to the same extent as he did back when they were children. She had always been the one looking after him, making sure he was okay, especially after the accident. Anytime he was in a car Mikasa always held his hand when the car started going faster, it was a bit of lesser known fear of his, that his breathing began to shallow when a car started approaching 60mph. It reminded him of the accident and he'd have to close his eyes and breath slowly, and deeply to regain his composure.

Driving always made him paranoid, not because of his own driving but because of everyone around him. When he first started learning how to drive he had issues being on the roads, especially interstates but he learned to get used to it enough to get by. Living in a city had helped with that but there were still times where someone going 80mph would fly by and about take his breath. He himself never went over 65mph, never, not once even on an interstate. He'd stick to the slow lane before he'd let his speedometer even begin to shake past 65mph.

Thinking back on it as he soaked in the bathtub he couldn't help but laugh. Mikasa drove like a mad woman, but even with him in the car she never crossed 65mph. He knew it was a stupid fear and that eventually he'd have to get over it but he didn't know how or when. Until that day, he'd focus on first being able to actually drive his own car and figuring out every other shitty situation that seemed to fall on his head. After the bath he decided to get to work on his thesis; how street racers were ruining local areas, making areas dangerous as they bring in more crime.

He had fallen asleep at his computer within a couple hours leaving the imprint of his laptop's keys imprinted on his cheek. Once he wiped the saliva from his computer and face he walked the short distance over to his bed and stripped down before crawling underneath the inviting blankets. Within minutes he was asleep, aches not weighing on him as heavily as they had the night before but he assumed that was due to the fact his headache had dulled. The night felt as though it progressed slowly, leaving him feeling well rested when he awoke at 7am ready to start the day over once again.

The day actually called for his normal style of dress, his glasses, his dark jeans and a white short-sleeved, collared button up. Being at a school of business had changed the way he dressed for the most part, he hardly ever left the house without looking respectable. He seemed like a different person yesterday and it was partially because he felt like one. His aches and pains were controlling the majority of his actions but he wasn't going to let that be the case for today. After checking his appearance in the mirror he removed the bandages and cleaned the wounds, making sure that if they weren't bad he would keep the bandage off them to let them heal appropriately.

When the familiar heavy knock on the door sounded through the house he grabbed his laptop bag, coffee, granola bar and headed out. This time Mikasa had added in the extra thirty minute drive out to the sticks so that they could get back to the gym on time and avoid the same problem that had yesterday. The whole ride was quiet aside from the radio playing softly. They were as usual the first ones there, opening up the gym and going to unlock all the doors around the gym. The pool was going to be closed for a few hours for cleaning so he put up the sign and moved on to the next area of the gym, unlocking the men's locker room on his way back to the front desk.

Every morning task was completed by the time the other staff members began showing up and entering the building. Eren put his coffee on the desk and began snapping off pieces of his granola bar as he opened up his laptop and began multitasking. Switching back and forth between working on his final paper and presentation, while also checking the member fees and all the money coming into the gym. It was taking a toll and before he knew it almost two hours had passed. Deciding that he needed more coffee he went into his adjoining office and set up the coffee maker, knowing that in just ten minutes he'd have an entire pot of fresh coffee to keep him going until he could get through a few pages of each thing.

Pulling out the second granola bar he sat down and began typing out facts about the crime rate and traffic accidents in cities with reports of active illegal street racing. When the pot finally finished he got up and took his tumbler with him, pouring it almost full to the top, leaving just enough space to add a small bit of creamer and sugar. He liked his coffee a bit more than sweet to drown out the strong acrid taste it was generally brewed with. It still kept him up just as effectively as black coffee; just one he could stomach more than the other.

Walking back to the counter, he took his seat and pushed his laptop to the side so he could focus on the desktop and the gym for the moment being. Just as he thought he would have some time to focus he took a sip of his coffee, and put piece of granola bar into his mouth when he heard the bell on the door ting alerting him to put on his smile and look up. The smell was the first thing to give him a start, he’d smelt that cologne before. When he looked up his eyes were met by none other than those of the mechanic who was now working on his car. The man stopped at the counter, leaving Eren's eyes to widen as he he tried not to choke on the bits of crumbs swimming around in his mouth. He took another sip of coffee as he held up an index finger in a waiting gesture as the man just nodded and kept his laugh from growing any louder.

"Careful, don't choke," his voice carried what he thought was a slight mocking tone as he leaned on the counter.

Eren cleared his mouth and looked over to him "I won't, now it seems the tables have turned. Something I can help you with?"

He casually shrugged, readjusting the strap on his left shoulder "Don't know yet, but there is something I need to tell you. I spent all last night checking out your car, and ordering parts for it, a bit of bad news I'm afraid. I'm gonna need you to come to the shop when you get the chance, because we need you to okay the parts we have to order. They _are_ expensive, I'm not gonna lie to you, but they're the only ones around right now. The estimate is gonna go up by a few hundred dollars."

The sound of Eren’s head hitting the desk with his deep groan sounded throughout the entryway "Ugh...great....just what I needed. I can stop by before you guys close, but you aren't working today since you're here right?"

"Wrong. I go to work _after_ my workout. My workout keeps me from killing Farlan so he appreciates it. We close around 6 so be sure to get there a bit before alright? Good job on keeping eye contact today, Eren, was it?" He smirked as he watched the tired expression on his face change to a flustered one.

A rosy flush heated his cheeks as Eren shook his head "Yes it is, and what is with that? I don't like making eye contact is that such a bad thing?"

He shrugged, wiggling his nose lightly as he took a breath "I guess not, but it's a sign of distrust generally. People find eye contact intimidating these days so when you find someone that can meet your eyes, chances are they aren't lying when they speak."

"Well some people are naturally intimidating. Oh...hey, do you want a new membership card?" As he watched him pull out his card to scan it he couldn't help but remember to finally ask.

"Sure, I guess. It is pretty old huh?" He flipped the card over in his hands examining it.

Eren chuckled "Haha, yeah, the _oldest_ one in fact. Lemme have it."

Taking it from his hands he pulled up his member information and shuffled through a drawer grabbing a new card, scanning it and handing it back "Oh thanks."

He was flipping over the hunter green card with silver etching as Eren read his member information "Wow, you've been here since I was _10_....."

"Have I? You must be pretty young. You gonna tell me anything _else_ while you have my account pulled up?" Leaning over the counter he grinned wolfishly.

Scanning the information he realized he finally had his name "No, only that now I have your name Mr. Ackerman."

"You didn't pick it up from my uniform from yesterday; not very observant are you, Eren?" Pushing the card into his hoodie pocket he straightened up.

"Your uniform was tied around your waist, I wouldn't have been able to read it yesterday, Levi," Eren stood up from the chair remembering how much taller he was than Levi.

Levi glanced up and grinned "Interesting. Have a good day Eren, I'll see you later. I got a workout to do," he raised a hand over his shoulder as he scanned his new card and went past the turnstile.

 

* * *

 

 

LOOK AT THIS. LOOKATIT. SERIOUSLY. ARE YOU SEEING IT?! I'm still dying over this guys! Post can be found here on [artist's](kagekii.tumblr.com) page. Thanks, Sunshine, I love you.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Update - Aug. 29th
> 
> So I guess a birthday gift from me to you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!! I hope you'll enjoy this new chapter! I've been quite busy today so do please forgive the late time of the update!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ♤ ♥ Neko ♥ ♤

Eren sat back in his chair and wondered what the hell was going through that man’s mind. Something about him seemed off but he couldn't describe it, almost like he was being too friendly. It definitely didn't seem like he was what he would have guessed. From afar he seemed genuinely intimidating like he had a sort of arrogance about him. Whatever it was made him wonder a bit, so he watched him for a minute as a girl approached him when he was doing bicep curls. Dropping the weight, he pulled out a headphone, smiled, said something, and then the girl walked off grinning ear to ear practically oozing a sparkling aura.

Friendly was never a word he would have thought to use to describe him at all, but apparently he was rather polite. Eren shrugged it off and went back to work writing up his paper for a bit before jumping back to the books. He spent a while researching cities with the most street racers, cross checking the data about their crime rates so he could source his materials and add them into the report when he was ready to. Just about an hour had passed when he heard approaching footsteps from the right side. Assuming it to be Marco coming up to mess with him about how scrawny he was again he rolled his eyes and huffed.

Saying the first thing that came to mind when he heard someone lean on the counter from near his office, Eren continued to type "I'm _not_ in the mood to hear about my chicken legs and twig arms, Marco."

There a semi-familiar laugh echoing from behind him "Hahahaha, oh so the freckled trainer says you've got chicken legs and twig arms huh? Well...he's not _entirely_ wrong. You should actually _use_ some of the equipment in here, I'm sure your boss would let you if you asked nicely, Eren."

Turning his head over his shoulder he saw Levi, black sleeveless shirt sticking to his sweat glistening skin as he leaned with his back to the counter "Uh........oh, I do not have chicken legs nor twig arms! They are perfectly fine and I _do_ work out thank you very much, but only to stay in shape. Now, what I can do for you?"

"The pool is closed? The doors are locked." Levi raised an eyebrow as he turned his attention to him.

Eren nodded "The sign must've fallen down, yeah it is. We're having it cleaned today."

"Well that sucks. You might want to get the sign back up then before you have to deal with more questions. Boss might not like that, hmm?" His sarcastic grin began to eat away at his patience.

"Oh well, I can tell you that the boss is certainly aware of these things as he also happens to be the one that does just about everything around here regarding those matters. Got a message for him, I'd _love_ to pass it along for you?" Eren's attitude began shining through his words as he spoke with a fake tone.

Levi seemed to pick up on it as his lips curled into a wry smirk "You could tell him he needs better customer service since the front desk is too busy to get anything done."

"Very funny. I just told the boss, he thinks I'll be fine. In case you were wondering, it's _me_ , I am the boss. This is my gym, my sister and I own it, but she leaves everything to me," sitting back down he made a note to remind himself to tell someone to put the sign back up on the pool door.

"Are you now? Interesting, very....interesting. I guess my workout will be cut short today, be sure to remember a bit before 6 right?" Running a hand through his sweat drenched hair he walked back through the door on his right leaving Eren once again completely confused by the events that had taken place.

He had seen two sides of him and he wasn't sure which one was the right one. It was all so puzzling to him how the other day he seemed so different than when he actually spoke to him. Trying to push the thoughts out of his mind he once again returned to his work hoping that it would keep him busy until about 5:30 so he could sneak out and pop over to the auto shop to see what parts they had ordered.

Spending hours working on his thesis while also trying to manage the influx of people into the gym was starting to be a lot more taxing. While he was thankful for everyone coming in, he was really tired of smiling and pretending to be happy the whole time. His mind was trying to figure out if money trees were a possibility while simultaneously wondering why he suddenly remembered what Armani cologne smelled like. Diverting his attention back to his computer he spent the entire time procrastinating about his thesis, didn't write any more of it and silently spaced out until the doorbell reminded him to smile at least when it opened. The day was not progressing well for him.

When he looked down at the clock noticing it was 5:25pm he called Armin up to take over for him while he went back across the street to go do some paperwork and check on the car. He even told him to tell Mikasa so she wouldn't freak out if she discovered that he was gone again. Armin thought he was doing it out of consideration when really he just didn't want to deal with the wrath that was Mikasa when she was angry. It took him a few minutes before he could get over to the front counter but when he did Eren was practically racing out the front door. Of course he thanked him again for covering for him, but he couldn't wait to get out of the gym and actually do something that would keep him up.

The thirty minute walk was nothing, considering that's how long it took when he wasn't leisurely walking. If he walked at a slower pace he figured it would take him a little more time and he wanted to use it as an excuse to waste as much time as he possibly could before having to go back. While he walked he pushed his hand into his pocket to answer a text before returning it to the pocket as he crossed the road. He wasn't very far from the building, so he slowed down a little more dragging it out. Once he finally got up to the building he noticed there were no cars around and dusk was starting to set. Darkness began rolling around the building cloaking it in a thick cover.

He got up to the door of the main building and pulled it open, noticing it was desolate. Not a soul was in sight as he opened the door carefully, not making a single sound as he crept into the room. Keeping quiet, he listened thinking that he heard voices around the counter, behind the door leading into the garage. Approaching the door he silently crept up to it listening to try to make out what the voices behind it were saying. He thought for a moment that he heard Levi's voice along with the man from earlier, and a few other men whose identities he did not know. Getting a little bit closer to the door he tried to see if he couldn't make out what they were saying this time.

_"Yeah, I know. We've got the parts, so we can do it. Levi it's up to you, you're the one driving it."_

_"I think it needs a better coolant system and a fuel injector that's worth a shit instead of what's in it now. We need fresh NOS in it too. I won't be racing anything like that, if I'm driving it, you bet it's gonna be a work of art not whatever this shit is."_

_"We know, we know. Only the best, which is why we're asking. Hey, I hear there's gonna be an invite only at Darby Saturday night, but to get the invite you gotta get through Rowdy tomorrow night and qualify. You think you can qualify in the Z?"_

_"If I'm driving, we're winning. Make sure you keep the scanners on, we don't another close call with the cops."_

At those few bits of conversation, he knew exactly what was going on and his heart began to beat faster and faster: _they were all part of a street racing circuit_.

He knew that if he wanted to get out now was the chance, from the research he had done he knew what would happen if he found out. Mostly they didn't like outsiders and they weren't about to trust one that just heard about a secret, invite only race happening somewhere in Darby. As he tried to back up slowly and quietly he tripped over a pipe in the floor sending both it and him flying. The sound was loud, no doubt that they had heard it, and there was even less of a doubt when Eren looked up from the floor to a pair of legs.

Scanning up the legs he eventually made it to the face of a fiery redheaded girl with her hands on her hips. The disapproving scowl paired with the devious grin on her face and the dark forest green carnal eyes were enough to send chills down his spine. She grabbed his arm as he stood up and backed him up against the wall slamming him hard into the concrete as she tapped on the door a series of 2-4-1 knocks letting them know that it was her. Levi opened the door and immediately let out an "oh fuck" when he saw who was sneaking around the building. Their secret was out and Eren was more than worried about his own skin, he was pissed off to no return and unfortunately for him his brain no longer worked well when it was pissed off. His ability to shut his mouth and keep quiet was now shot.

"Let me go! I do _not_ want to hurt a girl!" Eren growled in response as her forearm pressed into his throat, voice strangled as it rose.

Levi walked over very calmly and raised his knee into Eren's gut bending by his ear as he dropped to his knees gasping for air " ** _Shut your mouth_.** She's more likely to hurt you than you hurt her. Good job, Is. Now, _like I was saying,_ Eld take the Z and give her two new bottles of NOS, if there's a show tomorrow tonight we're gonna be the guest of honor."

"You got it, but uh, what are you gonna do about _him_?" Eren couldn't tell who was speaking, but he wasn't going to risk taking a chance to look, the less he saw the greater chance of getting out of it.

His voice slipped into a harsh tone he was unfamiliar with as he lifted his chin forcing Eren's eyes to meet his own "Eren, I thought I told you to come before 6? If you would have listened we wouldn't be going through this. I don't know what you expect, Eren, but you know I can't let you walk away from this," reaching a hand out to the fire engine red, redhead she handed him a .45 caliber pistol while he was gasping through the gasoline thick air.

Eren snarled, spitting at his feet "How fucking _typical._ I don't care what you do here, illegal street races, endangering people’s lives other than your own, illegal modifications, whatever I really don't care. I think it's fucking _stupid_ but I don't care. I'm not gonna tell anyone about what's going here."

Levi's previously charming smile took a turn for the sinister as it widened to the point of almost showing his molars "Oh, Eren, I _know_ you aren't. You won't be able to with what I have in mind for you. You're young, pretty cute, unsuspecting of criminal activity, so I think we can _use_ you. See the cops are cracking down on our races, even going as far as to watch the people that are ordering certain parts from auto shops. I can use you to go place and pick up my orders, no one would suspect you after all. Is, over there, does the same thing. I also happen to know that paying for your car is gonna be a bit of a hassle for you so I'll make you a deal. Work for me, keep your mouth shut, and I'll help fix your car as fast as I can without you paying me _a dime_ ,” pausing, he slid back the slide on his pistol squaring away the shot “or don't agree and bite the bullet I've got loaded in this barrel. _Your choice,_ and you've got exactly thirty seconds to decide. Do chose the smart option please, I _hate_ having to get blood on my floor."

Eren's mind raced as he tried to understand what the hell was going on, but it was his life on the line as he stared down a barrel of a loaded gun so he made the only logical choice someone would make " _Fine._ I'll do it."

Pulling the slide, popping the bullet, and dropping the magazine, he handed the gun back the girl, named Is "Good choice Eren, I _knew_ you had to be smarter than you looked. I'm gonna have a friend of mine look into you, but in the mean time, I'll tell you how this is gonna work."

He walked over to the counter, slid up a computer chair and sat down, leaning forward as he crossed his legs "What I do is _obviously_ illegal, you know that, we all know that. Doesn't matter at all to me, but there are rules in what we do, and no one breaks them. Break them and you die, simple as can be. For someone like you versus someone like me the rules are different, for you the rules are **1.** No one gets told what we do **2**. Tell anyone, you _all_ die **3.** Do not ask questions **4.** Do as you're told and just that **5.** When your job is done, go home. After you work for me, doing as I ask, and we get your car situated, then you'll actually get paid for what you do, but for now everything I'd pay you goes to the car. _Clear_?"

Lifting his chin with the toe of his boot, Eren wrinkled his nose in disgust "Crystal, and you said no questions, but I have one anyway."

Intrigued, he leaned in, smile slowly retracting "And what is that?"

"Is this how your personality _really_ is?" Eren narrowed his eyes as he heard the girl beside him laugh.

Levi shifted in the chair "My personality doesn't change. What you see in public is also my personality just the part I fabricated for public view. Being able to turn that on and off is all a part of the game, I don't seem so suspicious when I play the nice guy huh?"

The girl beside him rolled her eyes "Don't tell me I'm gonna have to babysit the _runt_?"

When he heard the word runt, he thought there was no way she was talking about him "Runt?! Excuse me, I'm taller than _both_ of you and if anyone is the runt here it's the _asshole_ in the chair."

She inhaled sharply, taking a step back as Levi's fingers tightened in a white-knuckled fist " _Watch...who you are speaking to brat,_ before I put your eye out with a blowtorch. This is your one and _only_ warning," getting up from the chair, he pushed it back to the counter and opened the garage door "I've got to get working on the Supra, Isabelle you tell him what he'll be doing tomorrow. I'll see you at 6 sharp tomorrow Eren, do not, be late."

One he passed through the heavy metal door, the redhead, Isabelle sighed and helped him to his feet "Listen, I know he can be a bit... _.intimidating_ at first. He will do what he threatens, his bite is a lot more powerful than his bark so listen to him when he speaks. He runs this outfit, he is your boss, he is your racer, everything you do you do for him so he can win. He wins, we're all happy, we all get paid more, but if he loses he locks himself in the garage and doesn't come out. He’ll sulk like a child so thankfully he hasn't lost in a very long time, but don't let him fool you he is a good guy. Your job, is to be a decoy, we order parts for his and Farlan’s customers at the same time we order parts for us. I'll pick up the customers parts and you'll pick up the racing parts. While we do work on high performance cars, it's a bit odd to see our shop order these parts so we have to have a decoy. The parts will be under a pseudonym, so when you go they'll be under the name Rivaille Moreau. All you have to do, is pick them up and bring them back here, they've already been paid for, easy enough right? If the cops are on the trail, they'll stop me before they stop you so don't worry."

Shaking his head he had no idea how he got into this mess "That's a really odd name, okay. What place are they at anyway?"

"Two are at O.D.S Motorsports, one is at Jem Auto Parts, and three are at Red's Raceway. Get them tomorrow and meet here at 6 sharp," she grinned and began pushing him out the door.

Following the direction he walked out of the lounge and heard her click lock the door behind him as he exited. At first he was too stunned to move, thinking there was no way that what happened was real, that maybe he was in the hospital after the accident and he was dreaming all this. Comatose lucid dreaming? Astral projection even? It all seemed to make more sense than what had just happened. Maybe he thought he would suddenly be jarred from the current existence and be told it was all in his head, but deep down he knew better. As he walked back to the gym he took his time thinking about what exactly he was going to be doing now. Nothing he was doing was exactly illegal, if the police did ever stop him he'd just say he was delivering the parts he was paid to, or something else.

Continuing to think on the subject he wondered if it could help him with his thesis any. If he was to actually get to see what goes on at one of these races then maybe he could write more about it. Even with all the research he did, he came up with dead ends because of the code of silence that most of the spectators and participants had. Most people didn't even know when or where the races were going to happen but he was going to get a way in to see first hand. He would be able to write about all the stupidly dangerous things that were done and just how much they endangered the lives of not only themselves but the people around them. Being able to turn the one of the worst negatives in his life into a positive was something he didn't even know he could do, but he was going to try.

Once he made it back to the gym he switched places with Armin and made himself focus on actually doing some work on his thesis. When he finished the outline of what he wanted to write about he knew what he needed to see, what he needed to know more about when he snuck into the race. It wasn't going to be easy, he'd have to make sure no one saw him from the garage and try to blend into the crowd. The risk was well worth the payout if he could find out more about the shady underbelly that was street racing. He'd try his best to overhear their conversation, and figure out what time the race was going to be at but it seemed even they didn't know anything about that.

The rest of the day he spent his time being preoccupied with what he was going to and how he was going to do it. He didn't know if Levi would really kill him, but he had said the moment someone looks you in the eyes and speaks they're being serious. Levi's eyes hadn't left his when pointed the barrel of the pistol between his eyes that along with his cold attitude led him to believe that he probably would have. It had been his first time having a gun pointed at him and he hoped it would be the last time.

While the time came around to close up the gym he and Mikasa made sure everything was locked and cleaned before heading out. On the way home Eren was going to have ask something of Mikasa he really did not want to, but it was the only way he knew how he'd be able to. When they were about halfway home he turned down the stereo until it was barely above a whisper. Mikasa made a quick side glance to him knowing that if he turned down the radio he needed to talk about something rather serious.

"Hey, Mika, I have a really big favor to ask of you," his voice softened as he turned to look at his sister.

She sighed and stole a glance back "What is it, Eren?"

"Can I uh, borrow your car for a few hours tomorrow night? I need to go get some stuff for the car tomorrow a bit before 6," as he spoke he noticed the myriad of expressions beginning to form on his sister's face.

"Sure, but you crash mine and you better _hope_ you die in the crash. Keep it for the night and come get me in the morning. You trust Armin to close?" Her expressions softened as she agreed.

At her very rare smile he responded in kind and had to hold back from hugging her instantly "Thanks Mika, and yeah, I do. I think I can let you go home early, around 5 work?"

Tossing him a skeptical look she grinned "I have a client at 4, so I think that'll be just fine, Eren."

Eren laughed a bit and turned the radio back up, trying to make his sister laugh by overacting through every bad pop song that happened to grace the radio. Mikasa caught herself cracking up as Eren violently gesticulated in the passenger seat in tune with the horrible music streaming through the car's speakers. When they finally reached the house Eren reached over the center console, pulling his sister into a hug, kissing her cheek gently before getting out and wishing her a good night. She had hugged him a little tighter than she normally did for some unknown reason but he smiled and walked into the house, waving as she pulled out of the driveway.

Unbeknownst to her, her brother was going to be engaging in criminal activities, and if she knew she would be too. She'd be the first in line to kill him if she ever found out so he knew he would have to remove every trace of evidence of where he was going to go when he borrowed her car. Her car was far newer than his, a candy apple red 2013 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ with just about every new piece of technology that could be imagined installed. While he did like her car and he wouldn't mind driving it, it felt a lot different than his Civic which he came to love. Driving anything else felt rather foreign but thankfully it wouldn't be the first time he had driven Mikasa's car while he had been home.

Some days she just didn't want to drive, even though she lived 10 minutes from the gym, so Eren would take her to and from work. He guessed this was just her way of returning the favor even if she'd have to do it a lot longer than she wanted. Honestly, now that he wasn't so banged up he could probably just go rent a car for a few weeks since he wasn't going to be paying Levi anymore. Just thinking of that proposition sent chills down his spine, the way he had spoken, the way his demeanor changed, it was all so....powerful. His presence exuded confidence and he couldn't lie, he found it just as repulsing and frightening as he did a bit attractive. In that moment he wrestled with the idea that maybe he was in fact a masochist.

Laughing at himself for having such thoughts he hung up his keys by the door and headed up the stairs. After a nice hot shower he tossed back 2 caps of Z-quil hoping that would help keep him asleep now that the bruises and muscle aches throbbed in his sleep. For once he had hoped right, the sleeping aid kept him asleep for most of the night, he woke up about an hour before his alarm and laid in bed, relaxing until his alarm actually began blaring by his head. His limbs were still a bit stiff and sore, so he took so ibuprofen in hopes the inflammation in his joints would subside as he worked throughout the day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fic Update - Sept. 15th


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of an update. For those of you who are on my tumblr you'll know that I had a severe reaction to the shot I received for my wrist at the doctor's office just a few days before the update. I was completely unable to move my fingers or wrist for several days and had to be in the hospital. All is well know and I will be updating soon! Without further adue, the new chapter!
> 
> Cheers,   
> ❤♠ Neko ❤♠

Mikasa was on time as per usual, except she had a surprise in the car for Eren. As he got into the car she thrust a cup of hot coffee into his hands just as he had put his own cup into the side pocket of his laptop bag. He took it from her as he thanked her and took an experimental sip, wondering if she still remembered how he liked his coffee. Apparently she had, she used to make fun of him that he liked sweet coffee flavored milk more than actually coffee due to how much sugar and creamer he put in it. Of course, she took her coffee as black as her hair and her heart, as much as Eren liked to tease her for that in return for her teasing him.

By the time they got to the gym Eren had drank almost the entire cup of the large coffee he had been given. Mikasa shook her head with a slight grin on her face, laughing at how it had lasted him that long. Coffee had been Eren's life's blood in college and when he came back home it didn't seem to change much as he still drank at least two large cups every morning before actually starting the day. Everyone knew that Eren without coffee was like waking a hibernating grizzly bear in the middle of December, he was extremely irritable and the anger tended to be easily misplaced. When he finished his first cup, he grabbed the tumbler from his bag and made his rounds while drinking the second cup.

Once everything was done he had long since finished the second cup and his bubbly morning attitude was beginning to shine through. It was no secret he wasn't a morning person at all, even trying to wake him up was like trying to wake the dead, but after coffee he could be the most social person on the planet. Working the front counter meant that he needed to put on a bright smile and act sociable so that was his way of assuring that he would be up to the task and make sure people felt that the atmosphere was friendly. Once back at the front of the gym he went to brew a pot of coffee, leaving it in the lounge just in case anyone else wanted some.

With his third cup in his hand he set to work trying not to think of what was going to happen later. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest as even remembered that today he was going to have to go back there and see the real side of Levi. Chills rushed over his skin as he remembered the lack of emotion in his eyes as he spoke to him, but he pushed the thought away and tried to really sink his attention into the prices of the new elliptical machines and how much it would cost if they replaced a few of the older ones. After all, they needed to be able to keep up with the newest machines in order to keep up with the needs of their members.

Falling down a rabbit hole on the internet of new bowflex machines and different classes offered at other gyms he lost track of the time and before he knew it there was just an hour left before he had to head off to the different auto shops around the city. After writing down the expected expenses for replacing some machines and hiring an instructor for some other types of classes to offer he resigned himself to the fact he was going to have to remember to act differently. Something about the way Levi acted brought out the worst in him, made him act without thinking, it just irritated him with his condescending, arrogant attitude. He'd have to remember to shut his mouth no matter how bad he wanted to open it and say something.

When he saw Mikasa walking around the corner with her red duffle bag over her shoulder still in her workout clothes he knew that it was time to go. She tossed him the keys to the car, which he caught rather clumsily, and walked over to the door. Gathering his things he followed on her heels and started the short drive to her apartment. He had been rather envious of the fact she lived so close since when he came back he couldn't find an apartment that close that was worth a damn. When they arrived at her apartment complex, Eren parked the car and got out to assist Mikasa but she only rolled her eyes and opened her own door.

Narrowing her eyes she met his "Hurt my car and I hurt _you_. Armin agreed to close for you and Marco said he'd help stay and lock up too. I expect to see you in the morning, okay? Love you."

"I got it, I got it. I love you too. Don't worry, I'll remember to come pick you up, now go enjoy your afternoon," he hugged her tight and released her quickly letting her disappear into the building before he returned to the car.

Taking a deep breath he decided that he'd go pick up the parts from the various auto shops now just in case it would take longer than he planned for. The last thing he wanted to do was be late, again. Remembering the names of the places he needed to go he touched the navigation on the screen and typed in the first place on the list, O.D.S Motorsports. It wasn't too far away so he made the 12 minute drive and prepared to walk into the small brick building.

He pulled into an empty parking spot by the front door, and readied himself to walk into the building. The placed seemed rather busy so he hoped the people wouldn't think twice about it when he came in. Once he actually walked into the average sized-building he noticed there was nothing out of the ordinary about it. Acting as calm as he could he approached the second counter where the cashier turned her icy gaze to him. She was a rather short girl, with pale blonde hair pulled back into a bun.

Her hands were resting in the neon aqua apron tied at her hips as he raised an eyebrow up at him "Can I help you?"

He was a bit stunned by her flat, monotone voice but he nodded "Uh, yeah. I'm here to pick up some parts."

"Name?" Once again the same tone sounded from her lips as she readied her fingers on the keyboard.

Hoping not to botch the name, he spoke as calm and fluidly as possible "Rivaille Moreau."

Typing it in without a pause in thought she gave him a look over "Haha, alright. I'll get them for you," her laugh had taken him off guard, but the look she had given him before disappearing even more so.

She was gone for a several minutes before returning with three brown boxes of varying sizes and weights. After she laid them on the counter she stepped back to the computer and typed something in quickly. Her attention turned back to Eren once she was finished with doing whatever it was she had been typing.

"Thank you," his tone was flat as he thanked her but she gave a slight nod.

Handing him a receipt she bagged the two smaller boxes and left the other "Here. You're going to need it, he'll ask for it."

Her sharp-toothed grin and wink took him by surprise as he grabbed the bags from the counter. She had given him this knowing glance as he met her gaze. The only thing he did was nod and carry off the parts, which were a lot heavier than he thought they were. It was probably because she had made it look so easy as she carried them to the counter, but she was so small he hadn't expected her to be able to carry them so easily. He learnt not to underestimate that one, but he wondered what she meant when she said "he'll ask for it". After he put the parts in the trunk he typed the second place into the on-screen navigation.

The second place had been back in the other direction so he typed in the third, Red's Raceway and decided to go to it since it was closer. It was a lot smaller and a bit more obvious than the other place had been as some of the cars in the parking lot looked like they'd be part of the race that was supposed to be happening later that night. When he asked for the parts for Rivaille Moreau everyone in the shop turned and stared at him with wide eyes before sharply turning back to their own business. It threw him off his feet for a moment but he soon realized it was because Isabel was normally their gopher for this kind of work so maybe it was odd to see someone else picking up the parts for him.

The two parts this time were a lot larger than the ones he had picked up at the last place so he had help carrying them out to the car. The associate handed him the receipt which he put with the other in his wallet and decided that he'd finally make his way down to the third place. It was already 5:30 so he was glad he hadn't decided to wait since the next place was going to take about 15 minutes to get to. Once he arrived he dropped the name as quietly as possible as this placed seemed to be the gem of the places he had been to that day. It was a larger building, almost like a warehouse of hundreds of thousands of car parts. The man behind the counter had him sign for the parts while he went to find the parts.

The tall, slender redheaded man brought out several large boxes on a dolly as he rounded the end of the counter. He stopped just short of Eren, taking the signed copy of the receipt handing him the other before extending his arm for him to go ahead. Apparently he wasn't going to have pick these up and put them in the car himself, so he walked out ahead of the man and popped the trunk open. He did assist the man with moving the boxes into the trunk and then he understood why he needed the dolly. The boxes were extremely heavy and with the sounds coming from the inside there were several parts. Once they were all inside he thanked the man and headed off to the shop.

By the time he pulled into the first open parking spot it was 5:58pm. He scrambled out of the car once he saw the time, pulling the front door open and stumbling into the lounge area. It didn't take him anymore than a second to realize that no one was there. Finally, it hit him that they were meeting in the garage like they had been yesterday, but just as he put a hand on the heavy metal door a hand stopped him. Turning around he saw the flashy grin and pale green eyes of Isabel. She patted him on the back, knocked a series of times and pulled the door open walking through it first.

He got dragged through the door by his collar as she stopped just a few feet from the threshold. There were several people in the garage hanging around, some he had remembered seeing but there were two he had never seen before. They would have been really hard to miss, a young woman with chocolate colored hair pulled up in a ponytail and round framed glasses and a young guy with two toned hair, the top longer layer was a dirty blonde while the short buzz underneath was a deeper pecan color. The piercings in his face took Eren aback a bit but he figured at least one person had to be the punk in the group.

Levi was nowhere to be seen which provided a deep, knotting feeling to set in his stomach. Isabel dragged him forward to stand beside her as the other people began gathering around them. Eren hadn't the foggiest notion as to what made them think that but then he heard it: the feather light sound of footsteps barely echoing in the hallway. It took him longer to figure out that Levi was the one coming down the hall about to pull open the other door on the side of the garage. There was no knock to tell them that it was someone else, which was probably why Is had stopped him from simply just opening the door.

Stepping through the door, Levi was dressed in his normal mechanic's uniform. It was unzipped to his hips with the sleeves tied, only he wasn't covered in grease smears like the last time he had seen him in the outfit. He had seen Levi in a lot of things but he found the dirty, grease smeared, dingy look to be far more attractive than anything else he had seen. As he walked over he rolled his shoulders back, and smiled as Isabel rushed up to him then licked her thumb before running it over his cheek.

Grimacing as she continued, he pawed her hand away "Gross, don't spit on me, Is."

"Hey, you missed a spot, don't blame me," his expression softened as she pouted, so he hugged her lightly before letting her go.

The first thing he did was check the shining silver watch on his wrist and turn to Eren "Congratulations, you're on time, Eren. My parts are....."

Eren bit his lip as hard as he could to refrain from making a stupid a joke "In my trunk."

"Receipts?"

Digging into his back pocket for his wallet he opened it and handed him the three slips of paper "Here."

He nodded lightly "good. Is, you got the others right?"

"Yeah, 'course. I'm gonna need some help though, hey, Eld, you mind?" The question was directed at a blonde man with a slight goatee and his long hair tied up in a knot.

Shrugging, the man agreed "Why not?"

Levi turned his attention to Eren "well, now let's get those out of your car. I do imagine they're quite heavy so take Jean and bring them in. Hey, go with Eren here and set out the parts for the Z and the Supra."

Pulling in one of his snakebites with his teeth, the man with the two toned hair scoffed as he pushed himself off the counter he was braced against "alright, come on, kid."

Eren narrowed his eyes at the word kid, the guy was clearly no older than he was. He rolled his eyes at the tone of his voice and headed out to the car, popping the trunk for him. It was hard to get a read on this guy, whatever it was, he could feel that the two were not going to be going out for drinks anytime soon, though if he was honest, he was a bit attractive. Eren grabbed one of the heavier boxes first to get them out of the way taking it back to the garage and sitting it down by the ones Isabelle and Eld were bringing in. Jean too, carried off one of the larger boxes and after four trips all the parts were in the garage for Levi to examine closely. He stepped over to them, eyes scanning them quickly, darting from one box to the other.

Pointing to several boxes he began ordering "Jean, take this one, that one, and the little one over there. They're for the Supra, Gunther, take those other three to the Z, and Eren pick up those four and come with me."

Eren did as he asked picking up the four decent sized brown boxes, following behind Levi "Okay."

When they stopped, they were in a separate part of the garage where he saw his car sitting, the entire front end stripped off as Levi gestured to the car "Alright, you can put them over there."

Looking at his car in pieces Eren winced "Ugh, my poor car..."

The words left his lips in a whisper but Levi had caught them and laughed "Haha, you should have thought about it before you wrapped it around a pole for a fucking rat. I'll go ahead and order those parts for you since it isn't going to matter that you're not paying for it outta pocket. You should go home after this, Eren, but first let's go meet the family shall we?" Levi's face twisted into a cruel smile as he pushed himself off the car and breezed right past him leading the way back to the main area of the building. Once the passed through the door everyone was working in their own areas or chatting about something that seemed important.

Jean walked up to Levi once he was back "Hey, which one are you driving tonight? The Z right?"

Levi nodded "Yeah, but I have to tweak some things before she hits the blacktop. Now, Eren, you met Jean, he's our detailer. He can match any color, do any decal, do anything you ever wanted and he can freehand anything. Jean, Eren Jaeger."

"'Sup, kid. Jean Kirschtein." He folded his arms over his chest giving a subtle lift of his chin.

Eren reciprocated "I'm not a kid."

With a raised eyebrow Levi stared back at him "I have been wondering, and just how old are you Eren. I don't need a minor in my outfit."

The woman with the glasses and Isabel both stifled their obvious laughter as Levi shot them death glares "Uh...I'm 23. I turn 24 in March."

Eyes slit, Jean glared at him "Well, I guess we're the same age then."

"That's good, but you're _both_ children to me. Alright, shitty glasses over there laughing is Hanji, she's part of the brains, helps with our escape routes and most the tech we keep in the cars. Eld is the blonde with the horrid goatee and he handles most of our repair jobs. You know Farlan and while not running the shop he does our books orders our stuff etcetera. Gunther is the one with the dark buzz to the right of Eld who also handles repairs, and you of course know Is, who does a lot more than half of these assholes. Now you know everyone, everyone, Eren Jaeger he'll be helping out Is." Levi pointed to everyone as he introduced them leaving them all to nod and wave as he spoke about each of them in turn.

"Nice to meet you guys, but uh, if Hanji is only part of the brains, whose the other?" Eren glanced over to Levi a bit puzzled..

Levi shrugged "Gee, I wonder, I'm not _just_ a pretty face Eren. I do most of the work on my own cars and figure out what needs to be done. That's pretty much all you need to know, now that's all for you, so why don't you get back to the gym. It does have to be managed by it's owner after all, correct?"

"Oh, don't run him off so fast Levi. I haven't gotten to meet the new little lamb! Hi! Oh you are just so cute!" The woman named Hanji rushed over crushing Eren in a tight embrace.

Scrambling to unwrap himself from the eccentric brunette's grasp, Eren smiled "Hi, thank you, but it's fine I do have to get back to the gym. I can't leave them alone for too long or they'll overtake the place."

Her eyes moved to Levi slowly "Ohhhhh, so _you're_ the gym kid. I see..."

At her implicative tone he looked over to Levi "What's she talking about?"

If looks could kill, Hanji would have been dead from the icy glare Levi had given her "Nothing, now go. When I need you, I'll be in contact."

He tossed Eren a sly smirk as he nodded and walked out of the garage. Maybe he knew he was trying to stall for the fact he was waiting until the time the race was announced. He didn't know how long he'd have to wait for them to tell him but he had a feeling if he waited around somewhere that he'd hear it eventually. First he had to go outside and get into the car, driving it somewhere close by but out of sight. Once that was done he very carefully snuck back in from behind the building near the dumpsters. Searching the nearby area where he could hear the conversation but still be hidden, he crouched down near the back garage door noticing that out of the three entrances to the garage that one hadn't been used. It seemed like a good place that wouldn't be discovered so he kept quiet and waited until the conversation approached the topic of the night's race.

Levi had ordered people to do certain things, something about fuel injectors, air filters, spoilers, nitrous, and a lot of car jargon that he wasn't familiar with. It had gotten quiet aside from the metal clangs and cacophonous noise from various tools operating at once. The sounds were beginning to give him a headache, but he needed to stay, he needed to see what all this was about and there's no way he'd be able to sneak into the invite only race Saturday night. Pulling out his phone, he checked the time, seeing it was a little after 7. He groaned silently at how long it was going to feel to him while he sat there silently pretending to not exist.

An hour passed and he began to grow increasingly antsy, no longer able to just sit idly by. He was about to get up when he heard one of the doors swing open. Freezing, he waited until he heard them talking to one another before he moved. When he was sure that they wouldn't hear any of his movements he sat back against the door and kept eavesdropping. Farlan was talking to Levi about the payment for the race, asking if he had enough for all the races he was going to need to do. All he could make out was the typical scoff and click of Levi's teeth, in an obvious "duh". Either Eld or Gunther was closest to the door so their voices seemed the loudest to him.

"Alright, I got it, it's gonna be at 12:20 at Rowdy. We've got enough time to get everything ready and head out there. Remember Levi, you're bad at pushing the Z too hard on the last stretch."

There was a venom in his voice as he snapped back "I know that dammit! I'll be fine, we've got to win more before we get that golden ticket, just get ready. I'll meet you guys there, I got shit to do."

The door slammed behind him as Levi exited, but something seemed so wrong. Eren thought the way he spoke seemed almost over emotional. There was something more to it, whatever that golden ticket was that he was talking about, it was important. He knew that it wasn't an actual golden ticket but whatever it was, was important enough for him to lose his composure over and that didn’t seem like something Levi did often.

Thinking about it, he needed to wait a bit, until he knew Levi was out of the parking lot before he left. Rowdy could have meant several places around the area but he didn't know it well enough to know for sure. When he got into the car and headed to the gym he'd look it up but for now he needed to focus on getting out of the garage and not being seen so once ten minutes had passed he began the attempt to sneak out of the garage. It went rather well as he watched the floor for the occasional trap laying on the floor, like long mop brooms in the corner, a metal pipe randomly laying in the floor, among other things that he could trip over.

Once out of the garage and in his car at the bottom of the hill in the neighboring parking lot, he heaved a sigh of relief. First thing was to get back to the gym and act like nothing was wrong as he tried to work out where they were going to be. It didn't take him very long at all to get back to the gym, which he didn't think he'd be returning to. One of the younger girls that worked in the gym was standing by Marco as he walked through the doors. Eren gave her a skeptical glance and she lowered her head, saying something else to Marco before walking off, presumably going back to her post as a lifeguard.

Marco shrugged "What? Don't fault her for it. She was just trying to be nice."

Eren rolled his eyes as stared “Was she? Or was she flirting with you like everyone else? I swear, I don't know what they see in you."

He smiled playfully knowing when Eren was messing with him "uUh huh, sure you don't. I'm sure it has nothing to do with my smile, great body r winning attitude."

Elbowing him a bit Eren laughed "Hahaha, you forgot the modesty. Mikasa might have mentioned helping me close but you guys don't need to stay I can do it."

"You sure? You know I don't mind staying, my last client has already left so it really doesn't matter." Marco smiled a bit as he tilted his head to the side.

He shook his head "Nah, it's cool, go home. I got this, take Armin too while you're at it. There's not even 4 hours left of the day, I'll be fine, but if Mikasa asked you totally stayed. If she knows I did anything by myself I think she'll kill me."

Chuckling, Marco nodded and put a hand on his shoulder "Haha, I got ya, to be fair, she scares me too. She's just worried about you though, you know."

"I know, but sometimes it's rather suffocating. I'll see ya tomorrow, alright?" Marco nodded again and walked off to the back of the gym as Eren walked over to the front counter and began his search online for areas nearby that could be the "rowdy" place that had been mentioned.

While he perused the dark reaches of internet forums he looked for pictures of the few areas that he knew might be the source. Almost immediately he knew the place that it had to be, but it was out in the middle of nowhere, which he didn't think was a thing. When he thought of street racing he thought it was in the city surrounded by people and outrunning the cops on every race not a place out in the middle of nowhere. The other place was located in the central part of the city near too many curves in the road, nowhere straight enough to hold a race.

Deciding the straight strip of land out by Rowdy Ray's Bar was probably the best bet for the location of the race, he decided he was going to have to fit in a bit. What he was wearing might fly if he was going to be the nerd in the group but he knew that would be passable if they talked to him. An hour before close he decided to close it down early and send everyone home. There was only staff in the gym so he didn't see the harm anyway, with closing early it gave him the ability to go back to his house and change into something that be at least half decent. It would take him about 50 minutes to get to the bar since it was on the other side of the city so he'd have to get ready quickly.

Locking up had been simple but he was done a lot quicker than he normally had been but he had been rushing through it all. It was worth it to be able to get home quicker and have time to sort through his closet for his average clothes that he only wore when he didn't work. A long time had passed since he wasn't groomed to be a businessman, dressing at least semi-respectable when he went to work. Lurking in the back of his closet was one of his old hoodies, so he grabbed it, took off his glasses and opted for a pair of contacts, changed his shoes into a pair of his converses and tousled up his hair a bit. The look was effective but he needed to change his shirt so he grabbed an old muscle shirt he kept around mostly for when he slept and wanted something cool.

After looking in the mirror he decided it only needed one more thing to be complete, the only piercing he had back when he went through his rebellious phase that didn't even last all that long. The hole had never grown over in his lip from his old ring on the left side, he still bit the same place when he got nervous or just needed to keep from saying something. Sorting through his nightstand he found the black captive ring he had always kept in it and slid it in, which shocked him that it went in so smoothly. He looked back into the mirror and thought his look complete, so he decided to step out and head off to the bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: TBA on tumblr - more than likely the 3rd or 10th of October as I will be participating in JeanMarco week 2016 and need the remaining time to work.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back!! I'll be trying to post either 2x a month or at least once so long as both my health, and internet, allows me to! Enjoy!!
> 
> Cheers,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

He hadn't expected to go through so much swamp to get there but it was Florida and he didn't know why he didn't expect it. The GPS hadn't led him astray, and he got there a little before the first race was going to start. He knew he had picked the right place when right down the road from the bar, there were roadblocks set up in front of each other as a line going down the road. Cars were already parked and a large crowd was already gathered around the area so Eren decided the best thing to do would be to park at the bar and walk the short distance into the crowd as some people had done.

He got out of the car and threw up his hood, shielding the majority of his face as he approached the crowd. Weaving through the throng of people wasn't too hard and he noticed he fit in rather well, but most of the girls were up against a guy almost in his lap wearing practically nothing. It was hot in Florida, sure, but his first thought was "damn". As he pushed through some of the crowd he got his first looks at some of the cars lined up around the area, each with their hoods up as people walked by and looked into them. Their drivers were usually to the side of it somewhere with their arm candy for the race. Eren passed one purple car that caught his eye as he driver was a woman, she was a tall brunette with her hair pulled back in a ponytail dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a light black hoodie but her arm was snaked around the hips of a very short blonde girl with bright blue eyes in a pair of jean short shorts and a black and white checkered crop top.

Eren smiled lightly as he moved his attention from them quickly, shifting it around to the other cars in the circle. A bright orange car drew his attention as he walked by,noticing the short guy with the close buzz wrapped around a brunette in a pair of orange shorts and a black tanktop, who was just trying to enjoy her beer and pretzel. It seemed they were having fun as she had a smile on her face and he was laughing but he breezed past them. Pulling out his phone as it vibrated he noticed he had a text from Reiner, so he curiously opened it.

**_From: Reiner_ **

_Hey, what r u up 2 2nite? Get the car fixed?_

**_To: Reiner_ **

_Ah, I'm with some friends, and I have it getting fixed but your friend said it'll be a while before it's done. What are you up to?_

**_From: Reiner_ **

_Bored as shit on patrol. That sux._

**_To: Reiner_ **

_Well I'm pretty bored too. I'm sure you have something to be doing._

**_From: Reiner_ **

_Yea thnx mom. I gotta keep a look out fr spedin thts all._

**_To: Reiner_ **

_Feel free to text me until you actually have something to do then._

He laughed and rolled his eyes as he messaged Reiner, knowing that he was probably sitting back in his patrol car with his feet on the dash as he played solitaire. While he was busy texting he heard the roar of a large block motor approaching down the road behind him. It sounded like more than one car so he wasn't too worried about it and continued to text. When everyone turned their heads to stare at the cars coming down the road that was when Eren decided to look up and shove his phone in his pocket. A black and red tuxedo painted 1968 Camaro SS came roaring into the crowd of people followed by a lime green 2004 Nissan 350Z with neon purple under lighting. The crowd began dispersing, as the cars slowly passed through coming to a stop at the end of the circle.

His eyes hadn't moved from the cars that drew everyone's attention and as soon as the doors opened Eren's jaw almost hit the floor. People began cheering and crowding as Levi stepped out of the Camaro, dressed in a leather jacket, a vibrant red undershirt and a pair of black jeans coupled with a pair of combat boots. He couldn't believe that was how he dressed, but when his face turned towards him that wasn't the only thing he couldn't believe. On top of having several ear piercings through the cartilage in each ear, he was sporting a gleaming silver barbell through his left eyebrow.

Isabel stepped out of the lime car running up to his side as she pushed other girls away from his sides. She was stunning in a pair of white jean shorts, a pair of short black combat boots, paired with a cobalt blue tank top. Her ferocious glare sent the other girls recoiling from Levi's side as she hooked her arm around his. It was clear in his head that Levi was together with Isabel, the two exuded a commanding, power couple type aura and anyone would have known that the two complimented each other well. His heart sunk in his chest as the thought crossed his mind....he couldn't tell why but it pained him. When he turned around he saw that Jean was with them as was Hanji.

Jean was ogling some of the girls around, as Levi flipped the hoods on the both the cars letting people come by to inspect the work beneath. While the attention was on them Eren sank back to the crowd pulling his hoodie up farther over his face hoping they wouldn't catch sight of him as they mingled through the crowd. As he moved to the back of the crowd he noticed a familiar face walking to the center of the circle. She was sporting a different outfit than he had seen her in earlier but the blonde was standing in the center of the crowd drawing their attention. The tight jeans and crop jacket over an army green top contrasted sharply to her pale blue eyes and light blonde hair providing a rather striking image.

"Alright guys, seems like our legend came out to play tonight, huh?!" People laughed as she raised a drink to Levi who shrugged.

Tossing her a wink he spoke up "Well, I mean I'm only here to take some stupid kid's money. How 'bout we get it started, Annie? Who's racing me first?"

His eyes seemed to sparkle as he could tell he was already excited, but they brightened farther when the girl from the purple car walked up to him "I'll race you. Which one are you driving?"

Levi raised an eyebrow "Does it matter? I'll smoke you in either one. Why don't you pick?"

The brunette shrugged "I'd to see what that Z can do."

Annie grinned and held out her hands "You know the bet, put it in my hands and line up."

The crowd roared as the two got into their cars and headed to the bold white line drawn across the asphalt. Moving the sides everyone stepped away from the cars except Annie who stayed in the middle, the brunette's small companion and Isabel. Isabel leaned into the window whispering something into Levi's ear before leaving the area to join the others off to the side.

"Alright. Rules are simple, first one back here wins. You'll go to the blocks, turn and come back. Winner take all. Now, let's hear those beasts growl!" The young woman named Annie grinned ear to ear flashing that sharp-toothed grin as Levi and the brunette revved the engines. Annie walked off as the short blonde girl raised her arms over her head, standing before each car. People were cheering and getting overly excited as the girl stood on her tiptoes before lowering her arms and sinking to the ground giving the signal to start.

Eren could barely comprehend how fast the two cars had moved from the starting position to already be barrelling down the straight stretch of road. As he looked down the road he saw the flash of the green car pulling ahead of the purple rival in the other lane. It was very clear that it hadn't been a close race, and for some reason he got the feeling the car wasn't even going the top speeds it was capable of. When the cars skidded to a stop, Levi's car had pulled clear of the purple car by several seconds. Levi pushed open the door grinning as he held a freshly lit cigarette between his index finger and middle finger of his left hand.

Annie walked over to him, pushing through the throng of people to hand him two wads of cash rubberbanded in a cylinder "Well, well, the king of the track stays crowned. No surprise there, anyone else want to try to dethrone our king?"

Levi blew a plume of smoke from his nostrils as the young guy with a close buzz walked up to him and grinned "Connie, right? Back for more?"

"You damn right. I'll beat your ass tonight! I just suped up the eclipse, so I bet she'll smoke that 350," the man had some fire in his clearly exuberant personality.

Tossing Annie one of the rolls of cash he had just won he cracked his knuckles and stomped out his cigarette "Well then stop running your mouth and start running your engine, Baldy."

His words had certainly added fuel to the fire as he stepped over to his car, slammed the hood down, got inside and drove up to the starting line. Annie moved to the middle as did the petite girl from the first race occupying her previous spot in front of the cars as their engines roared. Once she fell to her feet the cars sped off down the straight stretch of road mirroring the first race. It was no surprise that Levi would once again win but the puzzling part was how he decided that he'd go look at the guy's car when it came back smoking.

Other people began racing one another as Levi headed over to pop the hood on the guy's sunburst orange eclipse. Eren wondered what would make him want to inspect a rival's car and actually begin telling him what was wrong with the car. He understood that he was a mechanic, but most people there had to have understood what was going on beneath their hood, at least he thought so. Levi pointed out several design flaws in the car's basic mechanics then walked away as if he had told the kid nothing that was shocking. It didn't seem like him, Levi was generally a cold looking person and he could see that just by looking at him but being around these people seemed to bring out another side of him, perhaps the real side. Maybe the other two sides he’d seen were carefully constructed facades and this was him.

Eren was paying attention to the racing cars as a beat-up coupe in primer gray flew down the road after the blonde gave her signal, trying to catch up to the metallic purple car that had raced Levi first. The tires smoked and screeched as the driver executed a high-speed skid, spinning 180 degrees through a U-turn and it seemed that drifting was popular with the night's crowd. The crowd cheered as the purple car whipped by again, the rear end missing them by mere feet as it skidded to a stop winning that race by more than a landslide. She was good, better than he would have guessed, but if she was that good and still lost to Levi who hadn't given it his all, then how good was Levi?

As his mind began to wander, bouncing different scenarios around in his head for how good of a driver he really was, his phone rang. Without thinking he answered it immediately as the tone would draw attention, but luckily it was only Reiner. He had been chatting about his boyfriend Bertholdt and how they had finally decided on a house and that they were going to move in next week. They had decided on throwing a housewarming party and wondered if he had wanted to come, but just as he was about to respond Reiner stopped him from talking. He heard he peck of him striking keys on the onboard laptop in the cruiser before he said he had to run. When Eren asked him what was wrong he said there were reports coming in of some races out by Rowdy's so he had to go break it up and he'd call him back later.

His mind bounced off different ideas as he saw Levi preparing for another race, he knew that the races were quick but he didn't know how far away Reiner was and if he was inbound then he'd be driving like a demon out of hell and he could be there in just minutes. There was only one thing he could do, and that was tell someone, anyone. Trying to hide the frantic expression on his face he approached the guy with the police scanner in his hands thinking that he'd be the best person to tell since it was his job to keep a lookout for the cops anyway.

Gesturing to him, Eren called him over "Look, you need to get everyone outta here. The cops are on their way."

Clicking his teeth, the shaggy blonde punk just shrugged "Ph yeah? And who told you that? There's been no chatter since earlier tonight."

"And you don't think that's odd? Listen I'm telling you, to get your ass in gear and clear this place out. Now," Eren hadn't realized his volume had been raising, and his eyes had flashed as he stepped closer to the guy.

The guy scrunched his face and shoved Eren back by the shoulders, oblivious to the aura hanging in the air as Eren bristled "I think you need to go back to what you were doing, kid. I haven't heard shit, so I'm not doing shit."

Attracting more attention than he wished, Eren stepped back up "Fucking listen to me and just do it or people are going to _jail_! Wouldn't you rather play it safe?!"

He had drawn the wrong kind of attention when Levi stepped out of his car, with Annie on his heels, "What's going on boys?"

The blonde's dark green eyes met Levi's for a fraction of a second before turning away to glare at Eren "This fucking asshole is telling me the cops are coming."

"Well, are they?" Annie leaned into the boy her fierce gaze focused on his every move.

Stumbling over his words he shook his head "No, uh, I mean, uh, I haven't heard anything on the uh, on the scanner."

Levi got closer to Eren inches away from seeing under his hood "Listen, I don't know who you are, but we don't appreciate idle threats. Who the hell are you to say otherwise when he's been listening all night?!"

In frustration he threw back his hood and met Levi's widening eyes "Fucking _listen_ to me Levi, I _know_ they're on the way, trust me. They're not talking over scanners because they know you're listening you half-brains! We need to get out of here... _ **now**_!" Just as Levi wrapped his hands around Eren's collar the sound of sirens became audible from a few minutes away.

Then they were all running for their cars as Annie screamed to pack it up and haul off. Police cruisers raced down the interstate ramp, lights flashing, to block the roadway. Suddenly the area began to look like a mall parking lot on Christmas Eve as people fumbled to get out of dodge. Eren had no idea what he was going to do, he was nowhere near the Malibu, but he didn't have time to think when Levi grabbed him and slung him into the passenger seat of the Camaro.

The tires squealed as they spun, burning rubber on the asphalt as he pushed the car in gear and sped off down the road. Eren's heart began beating faster and faster as his chest constricted, the world began spinning and he realized he couldn't breathe. He hadn't had a panic attack in a very long time so he did the only thing he knew to do, pushed his head between his knees and covered his ears. Levi was more focused on driving than the breakdown happening in his passenger seat. Eren tried to drown out the sounds of the car shifting into gears, the loud rumbling of the engine, and the sounds of the police sirens by whispering the lyrics of songs that first came to his mind until the sounds began to fade. By the time he'd finished his breathing began to regulate and the constricting feeling in his chest began to fall away allowing him to take deep breaths.

He hadn't noticed the car had been stopped for several minutes, parked out in a random area of the woods with the lights turned off. Levi had been focused on what he was doing when he finally noticed what was going on. When Eren gained his breath and opened his eyes he suddenly remembered what had happened and leaned his head back against the fire engine red leather seat. Crossing his arms Levi folded them over his chest and looked around to make sure that no other cars were blaring by. They both heard the sounds of squealing tires pass by meaning someone else had followed the same path as they had.

"You gonna tell me what the fuck that was, Eren?" Levi's tone was cold, harsh, and intimidating as he stared over him eyes locking onto his exuding a rather menacing aura.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update: Oct. 24th


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I have a friend updating my chapters for me since my hands are getting bad again and the internet is wonky. If I do not get to all of your comments I do apologize. Please be patient with me, I really appreciate it guys.
> 
> ~Thanks, Lots of Love,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

He couldn't even do so much as meet his gaze as he rubbed the back of his neck "I was....on the phone with a friend....the one that recommended your shop to me. He's a cop, and while he invited me to a party he stopped and said he had to go, there was a race he needed to bust up. I heard the keys of a laptop being hit in the background so I figure they know you guys are listening for them."

Levi slammed his hands against the steering wheel, knuckles turning white as his grip around it tightened “Shit! Fuck! Goddammit! Eren...listen to me very closely. Why were you there? I do remember telling you to go home."

"A friend told me about it. I wanted to see what it was." Eren's lie was easily the most transparent thing he could have said.

He knew that it hadn't worked when Levi reached over and pulled him by his shirt until they were inches apart "Do. Not. _Ever._ Lie to me. Now, I'll ask you _again,_ why were you there when I told you to go home?"

"Curiosity," meeting his gaze for longer than the brevity of the answer he found himself trembling.

Levi noticed it as well and let go "Calm down, I'm not going to kill you. You're the only reason we all got out of there, now what the hell was that?"

Confused Eren tilted his head "I thought I just told you that."

 _"That's_ not what I was referring to. You're _shaking_ like a damn leaf," Levi stared back intently at him waiting for his answer, but it was clear Eren wasn't going to say anything so he spoke again "you know I said I was going to look into you, Eren, and I did. I know about the crash, I don't know the details, but I was also around when it happened. I remember some of it myself."

Eren's eyes darted quickly to Levi, narrowing quickly as his mouth moved too fast to catch **"Don't you fucking dare.** I don't give a shit _who_ you are, don't you even talk about them."

Taken back a bit by the sudden anger welling in his voice Levi shrugged "I'm not talking about them, I'm asking _you_ to, but if you don't want to don't. Either way we're going back to the shop we need to regroup." Starting up the car, Eren immediately felt his stomach churn and pushed open the door before Levi could even move the car. Emptying the contents of his stomach, Eren vomited out of the open car door as Levi sharply turned his head away in disgust. Once he was sure was done, Eren took his hoodie off and balled it up putting it between his knees as he laid his head down. Levi glanced over noticing the subtle rise and fall of his back noticing that in just several minutes he was asleep.

He woke up a few minutes later, putting his hand to his head as his eyes adjusted to the heavily wooded area they were in. Knowing that he hadn't exactly been himself earlier he turned his head to the side and began talking "I was 12 when they died. You may have looked into but you don't really know, you weren't there. I remember _everything_ : the sickening smell of burning rubber mingling with burning flesh, the sound of shrieking metal, the sound of my mother sobbing for me as she bled out, the screech of the tires as my father tried to overcorrect the car, the sound of the shattering glass and crunching fiberglass and bones, the sound of car horns and sirens blaring in the distance, the feeling of my stomach turning flips as the car spun around and around until it collided with the guardrail. I can still hear it, see it, smell it, taste the copper in my mouth. I have panic attacks being in cars, I get sick. I can't stand it any time a car goes of 60 miles an hour. I start to feel my chest constrict and it's all I can do to keep from passing out. I'm sorry you had to see that earlier, not exactly my proudest moment....."

"That doesn't make you _weak,"_ his words were direct but something else was laced in them, something he couldn't pinpoint, "we _all_ have horror stories and we're all fucked up in some way or another, anyone who says otherwise is goddamned _liar_. Eren, I know what happened in the crash...well I know what caused it I should say. You don't like me very much do you? Not because of me but because of what I do right?"

Eren froze in the seat, his muscles stiffened as Levi cast him a side glance "......Uh....not particularly no...but I don't know you. I think what you do is _stupid,_ and it gets people killed, but I haven't even seen it first hand....."

Levi laughed "Hahaha, you have some guts brat. I'll give you that but there are rules in our world, when you don't follow the rules _that's_ when people get hurt. You don't think we know what we do is stupid? You're damn right we know it's fucking stupid which is why we close off the roads so no one can get hurt, its why we never drive with someone else in the car, we're not about to endanger anyone else's life because of our high. That's what it's all about, its an adrenaline rush, no drug no liquor will ever come _close._ God forbid if we had an actual place to race we wouldn't need to scatter like bugs. Don't talk shit about a world you know nothing about...but I'll tell you what, you want to see what good racers are like? I'll start bringing you along, but you'll owe me."

"I do not like the sound of owing you anymore than I already do.......what exactly will I owe you exactly?" His suspicious tone was enough to make him laugh again.

"Haha, oh nothing much, just you're going to be the one looking out for the cops. I don't care how you do it but you obviously know better than we do. I also know that you happen to be rather good with numbers Mr. Business Management. I’d like you to help out Farlan a bit. I'll tell Annie when I see her next and Farlan as well." He glanced over with a half-grin, as Eren narrowed his eyes.

Meeting his gaze for a slight moment Eren inquired about the blonde "Annie.....I saw her at the auto-parts store earlier. I guess I know why she was giving me that look and said "He'll ask for it.”

Levi made a curt nod "Mhmm, she sets up most of the races around here, the small ones anyway. The moment you used my name she knew, and I always ask for my receipts when someone brings me my parts. I put a lot of money into my cars and I expect it to go for precisely what I need it to and nothing else."

"Yeah......nice jewelery King of the Track, apparently that attitude wasn't the _only_ thing I wasn't aware existed," Eren didn't even both stifling the barely audible chuckle that left his lips as he gestured to his piercings.

Levi smirked as they stopped at a stop sign, turning his attention to Eren "Nice outfit brat, where'd you buy it, Wannabe-Punks-R-Us?"

"Excuse you. If you're gonna go there I'm gonna ask you if the greasers of the 50's called and asked for their fashion sense back." Eren stared back with a rivaling sense of playful venom awaiting his next comment.

"I'm not excusing myself, you look like you assumed that's how we dressed or something." There was a slight huff of exasperation exiting his lips as he spoke.

Eren rolled his eyes "You can't tell me that it wasn't wrong either, I blended in pretty damn well. Good thing I'm not a woman, they were dressed like hookers. Sorry, I'm not calling _your_ girlfriend a hooker, she was one of _few_ that didn't look like they were working the men of the crowd."

"What?" The tone leaving Levi's mouth made him quickly rethink.

"Hey, I said she _'didn't'_ look like a hooker," he raised his hands in defense as the puzzled furrow of Levi's brow had yet to soften.

Levi shook his head "no, I think you misunderstand, who exactly do think my girlfriend is?"

Tilting his head, Eren responded quickly "Isabel."

Levi had to put his hands on the steering wheel as he rested his forehead against it "Hahahahahahaha, oh Eren....Isabel is my little _sister_. Well not by blood, but you understand. What led you to that conclusion anyway?"

Swallowing hard as he felt a blush to his cheeks Eren sharply turned his gaze away "She told me after you pointed a fucking gun at me that _"you weren't a bad guy"_ , then she shoo's away all the girls from you, you kiss her cheek before the race...."

"Wow, really great detective work there. How often were you staring at me to see all that, huh? You don't like me, but you stare fucking holes through me no matter where I am? What's up with that?" Levi leaned over to him pulling his chin to face him.

Eren felt his heart thumping rapidly in his chest as he was forced to stare into Levi's eyes "I was just trying to watch the race. You drove in and suddenly everyone was looking your way so I turned to see who they were looking at. It couldn't be helped with this loud ass car and then the new style confused me."

A half-smirk curved stretched over his lips "Mmhmm, I'm sure, and that also explains why you can't keep simple eye contact when I ask you a question? I told you, make eye contact when you answer me. I'll think you're lying if you don't. And, _this_ style isn't new, in fact I've had it almost as long as you've been alive."

"I got it, I told you before I just don't like making eye contact. I have a hard time believing that, an eyebrow ring and what? 6 ear piercings?" There was a slight turn of his head as he tried to count the piercings in his ears.

"Do I look so different compared to the man you couldn't take your eyes off of long enough to do your work at the gym? A preconceived idea of someone can be a _bitch_ when you really talk to them huh?" Levi's eyes narrowed as his smirk only widened.

Clearly he had gotten the reaction he had wanted as Eren's blush only continued to grow, obvious tension lingering in the air "......If you knew I stared at you, why didn't you ever say anything to me? Watching the girls come up to talk to you, running back giggling kinda earned you a nickname among the staff. My idea of how you'd actually be was really far off in some ways, but not in others."

His smirk softened into a light smile "Why didn't you? And what would you have done? Blushed up to your ears and down to your toes like you're doing right now? Oh, it did, did it, well now I'm curious."

Eyes widening he jerked his head free from the cool fingertips resting on his chin "I am not blushing, _Gentleman Gymrat_. I never had anything to tell you."

He clicked his teeth in disgust "Such a _lovely_ nickname, thank you, and you are to. It may be dark but it's almost like you're radiating this rosy flush." Just then his lips curled into a sinister smirk "Don't tell me, you had a crush on me and now I'm the _bane_ of your existence because you hate street racers?"

 **"NO**....god, would you just focus on driving?!" Eren snapped as he turned to look at him, sighing in frustration as Levi laughed.

"Hahaha, ohhh, bingo. How sweet, Eren, but you know I'm too old for you. Not to mention I'm a bit out of your league." Levi turned to him as he grinned, obviously enjoying teasing him.

Eren rolled his eyes "Yes, because _that's_ the part of that situation that kept me from thinking that it would work out."

"So you admit it? Even better. What part of it made you think that judging a man by just staring at him was going to work out so marvelously, anyway?" Levi leaned in his direction casting a short side glance to him.

"I don't admit to anything, what makes me wonder is why you said being too old is the problem instead of another man having a thing for you. Don't you find that idea disgusting?" Eren shot back as he leaned his head against the door.

Once they pulled into the shop's parking lot Levi looked over at him "Because you're a kid, as for the other part, well, that's because I like men. Oh, and there are 11." He was getting out of the car, leaving Eren floored by what he had said. As he slowly managed to get out of the car after being too stunned to think straight, he paused trying to wonder what Levi had mean. Just as he was thinking Levi pulled open the garage door and turned back "Piercings, Eren, I have 11." Eren stood still, blinking slowly as he counted in his head the number of piercings that he had seen thinking there was no way he had 11, that meant that there were 4 that he didn't happen to catch. He kept thinking that there was no way he had 11 since he only saw the one in his eyebrow and the ones in his ear which he didn't think he had miscounted.

As his mind swirled about thinking about everything he had said in the car his blush kept darkening until it was a crimson flush scattered across his skin. Walking into the garage only made it a bit more obvious but no one was mentioning it. Jean, Hanji, and Isabel had been waiting on them in the garage when they got there standing against the car, arms folded over their chest. Isabel didn't waste any time running into Levi's arms when she saw him coming through the door. Levi caught her as she flung herself into his chest, ruffling her hair a bit as she latched onto his shirt for dear life.

"I'm so happy you're safe! We didn't know what route you took, we thought you got pinched!" Isabel was half sobbing into his shirt as she spoke.

Levi smiled softly "I know. I know, but look, I'm in one piece. We need to have a chat. Isabel, I can fill you in later, why don't you take Eren back to Rowdy's, his car is still there I presume. He'll need that to be getting to work. Go on, it's fine."

She punched him in the shoulder but did as she was asked and dragged Eren off by his shirt before he could even ask anything. Levi just grinned as he left, making the smallest smirk to accompany the wink of his right eye that only he seemed to see. His heart was beating too fast in his chest to be able to produce a coherent string of conversation in the car when it came to Isabel. He ended up falling asleep before they even made it out of the city, head resting against the door of the car. Isabel jostled him awake when they made it back to the bar about half an hour later.

"Hey, Eren are you even going to be able to drive back home?" The concern in her voice sounded genuine as she posed her question.

Eren wiped his eyes and nodded through a yawn “Mhmm....I'll be fine....Hey, are you really Levi's sister?"

A proud smile spread over her face "I sure am! I love him to death, he can be a real asshole, but he's my big brother and he's not _'that'_ bad most days. Just don't piss him off and he's pretty lax."

"Well, sounds like you two get along well. I guess I'll see you guys whenever you need me, good night Isabel, and thank you," he provided a warm smile before he got out of the car, walking over to the red Malibu and climbing into it carefully. He might have told the slightest lie to Isabel when he said he'd be fine to drive back home. Doing the best thing he could think of to help keep him awake on the almost hour long drive back home he turned up the radio on full blast and rolled down the windows. The air and loud noise kept him from falling asleep and it wasn't the first nor the last time he knew he would be doing something similar. For the first several minutes he fought the drowsiness but halfway home his second wind kicked in, letting him have a good deal of his energy back.

He made it home safely and immediately went for his phone knowing that if he didn't set an alarm he wouldn't be waking up in a few hours to go pick up Mikasa and open the gym. It took him a few seconds to realize that his phone was not in his pocket where he had put it. He began frantically searching all over his person trying to locate his phone hoping, silently praying, that he had it only misplaced it by placing it in his hoodie pocket. After unfolding his hoodie and checking the pockets he realized that there were only two other places his phone could since it wasn't on him: Isabel's car or Levi's. By some dumb luck he had hoped it was in Isabelle's than in Levi's because there was no way he wanted to be alone with him now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well wishes from Neko. In regards to updates, there has been an update on their tumblr should you be curious. You can find it
> 
> [Here](http://justapansexualfanficwriter.tumblr.com/post/153357578516/update-hold)
> 
> ***T.C.***

Levi announcing very matter-of-factly that he liked men had done more than twist him around. No way was he being serious was Eren's first thought, maybe he's just screwing around to elicit a reaction was the second but after the farewell gesture, he knew he had been more than serious. His heart would **not** be able to handle being in the same small enclosed space with him since he still found him attractive. Thinking that he was a narcissistic asshole did not make him blind to the obvious gifts that he had been bestowed so he didn't trust himself not to get into a precarious predicament. His mind had wandered beyond the scope of hopeful when they were in the car so closely together, speaking of things he shouldn't have. It got him what he wanted but at the price of his own sanity.

While he went upstairs combing through the closet for his old alarm clock he came across more pieces of clothing from his old wardrobe, laughing as they reminded him of better days. He tossed some articles of clothing out into the room reminding himself to wash them so he could wear them later. Once the alarm clock was found he had to go downstairs to check the time, come back, add 5 minutes to the time to ensure he'd wake up thinking it was later than it was, and set the time on the clock. With the clock set he shimmied out of his clothes and immediately jumped into the bed ready to go to sleep.

The alarm blared in his ears only 4 hours later, signaling the need to get up and take a shower since he had neglected to do so the previous night. Once he showered and got dressed in something that was a mix of his casual and business attire, he grabbed the keys, his laptop, and headed out of the house. There was no time to make coffee and no time to do anything but drive rather quickly off to Mikasa's and hope that she wouldn't mind if he was just a little bit late. The drive had his mind preoccupied keeping from thinking about where his phone was and who might have had it.

Mikasa had just walked out of her apartment building when Eren pulled into the parking lot meaning that he had been _slightly_ late but it was fine since she didn't have to wait. When she got into the car, coffee cup in hand she only gave him a nod of approval and buckled her seatbelt. He smiled lightly and drove them the few minutes to the gym. Eren kept silent as he knew she had to have just recently gotten up because she wasn't speaking and had a genuine aura of negativity wafting from her. The woman was like a zombie upon first waking up, a very angry zombie. She did not want to talk to anyone or even speak herself at all. Eren had known that's how she had been since they were kids so it didn't bother him too much and he knew that once she had some coffee and got adjusted that she'd be just fine.

After they had gotten to the gym he tossed Mikasa her keys and she looked at him up and down "You look like shit."

He scrunched his face at her comment "Oh _thanks_ sis. I can't help it I only slept four hours last night and now I'm going to require an entire pot of coffee just to sustain myself throughout the day. I need to find someone to work the counter because I **cannot** do that with a fake ass smile. Not today."

"Tell Brianne to. Last I checked the little harlot's not doing anything important. I'm not even going to ask why you didn't sleep, let's just get open the damn gym and get to work," she replied bluntly as she took another sip of her coffee. Before heading off she grabbed her duffel bag from the backseat then made her way inside. Eren finished opening the place within a few minutes and immediately went to brewing an extremely strong pot of coffee knowing that he was going to need it if he planned on acting the least bit social. Tracking the membership information kept him busy for a while until he switched over to working on once again finding space in the budget for expanding the gym, thinking that he needed to stay on top of the newer trends.

Brianne had agreed to work the front counter which he figured she agreed because she would get a great view of the guys that came in to lift weights. She was a rather short girl with long wavy blonde hair and jade colored eyes so she, herself, tended to draw attention. Just as he thought about how she would be drooling over some guy he heard her play laugh that she normally used when flirting with a guy. He sighed and got up from his desk, coffee cup in hand, as he walked out to the front desk. The voice rang in his ears as soon as he heard the man talking about how cute she was, it sounded familiar, and it was. Jean was standing at the end of the desk leaning over it as Brianne leaned back in her chair, twirling her hair around her index finger giggling as he spoke.

Eren walked up behind the counter staring at Jean's attention gathering accessories "Can I help you?"

At his tone Jean stiffened up, straightening his posture "Sure can. I'd like a membership."

"I see. Brianne, why don't you let me handle this? I made some coffee, so help yourself," he smiled at the small blonde as she nodded and skipped off to the lounge by his office, fluttering her eyelashes as she waved goodbye to Jean.

While he was printing a form for Jean, Marco rounded the corner walking up to the desk "Hey, Eren, I should have a client coming in a few but she lost her card. Would you mind letting her past?"

"Not a problem Marco," Eren smiled as he put the form on the counter for Jean. "Fill this out, hand it back, I'll give you your membership card, and you'll pay the joining fee and the first month’s fee."

Jean was too focused staring at Marco to completely hear what Eren had said "Uh huh, sounds great..."

Marco turned his head to the side but provided a warm smile "Well, Eren, seems like you found us another member. Hey, I'm Marco, I'm a personal trainer here."

Shaking his hand, Jean let a smirk slide over his face "Jean Kirschtein. I would say I think I need a personal trainer, but I think I'm good."

Eren rolled his eyes at Jean's pathetic attempt at flirting with Marco as his tank top showed off his arms but Marco shrugged "Eh, I think you favor your left side so your right side needs work, your core seems a bit weak, and that’s probably because you’re so thin, but I am _sure_ you're fine. Oh and your triceps... they need work too."

"Well, if you want to schedule a consultation with Marco now would be the time before his client gets here Jean," he was holding back a snicker as Jean looked absolutely appalled by his comment.

"Okay, well if I need so much help why don't you help me out, Marco, was it? I'm sure I can find some time to clear for you...for the session I mean," it had seemed it wasn't enough to deter him as he continued his flirting.

Smiling Marco nodded "Sure, I charge $65 a session, and I have spots open on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays."

Jean had a momentary moment of shock before agreeing "I work pretty early but I get out early as well, so how late do you stay?"

"I stay until close most nights, which is 11, but I stop taking clients around 9. I have two sessions open at 7 and 8 so whichever you prefer," Marco's business face took over, meaning there was a serious tone in his voice to contrast the sweet features of his face.

"7 sounds perfect. I guess I can't come tonight then huh, even though it is Wednesday," Jean gave him a sly smirk to which Marco only shrugged.

"If you prefer you can, but it's not going to be easy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go, Mr. Kirschtein, Eren," he gave a gentle nod before walking off leaving Jean more than a bit stunned.

Eren rolled his eyes and took the forms as Jean finished them, scanning a new card and putting the number into the system before giving it to him "Here's the card, you scan it there to get past the turnstile. Oh, and I should warn you, Marco doesn't mess around with his clients."

He shook his head as he examined the card "Good thing I like a challenge. Are you saying he's into men?"

"I’m not saying anything but he'll entertain anyone for a good laugh later. I advise you don't do anything you don't want the whole staff to find out about. Now, you-"

Before he could finish the thought Jean handed him a folded stack of cash and his cell phone "That should do it. I swear he looks familiar…. Anyway, now, I have to get to work. Boss told me to pass on a message to you, "Don't leave shit in my car." oh and he said to check your phone if you had any questions. See ya, Jaeger." Eren rolled his eyes slightly as Jean walked out of the gym grinning ear to ear. He could only laugh at the fact he'd see him later trying to flirt with Marco knowing that it would lead absolutely nowhere. A good laugh was certainly in the future for him but it was only 11am so he'd have a while before he could laugh at him. Turning his focus to the money in his hand, he pulled the clip off it and began counting, by the time he had counted up to $430 he stopped, wondering why the hell he had been given so much money. Remembering what Jean had said he grabbed his phone and turned on the screen, noticing it was fully charged meaning Levi had to have charged it last night.

Getting past his lock screen apparently hadn't been very hard because there was an app open on his phone as soon as he put in his pattern. The Memo app was open with a message typed out across it which read:

_Brat,_

_Let this be a lesson to never leave your shit in my car again. In case you were wondering, your fingerprints were smudged across your screen showing your pattern. The thing was fucking filthy, clean the damn thing more often. I surmise you took Jean's advice if he remembered to tell you if you had a question to check your phone. If you're wondering why you've been paid, call it your part of last night, everyone wins when I do. You're going to be part of the team from here on out. You play your part, not only will I fix your car, you'll also get paid a small part of what you normally would. I apologize for having to send Jean to do my dirty work but I am rather busy this morning. I'll be requiring your presence tomorrow afternoon at the garage, 7pm. I need to personally discuss something with you._

_\---Levi_

He groaned at the idea of being in that garage with Levi again, but it meant getting his car fixed and help to pay his tuition while also assisting with his thesis so he couldn't be completely against the idea. While he was reading his message he happened to notice that there was another app open. Closing out of the memo he brought up the second screen which was on his contact book with a new page being added with the name Levi. Beside his name he had put "because you wouldn't ever be able to ask for my personal number without blushing too hard." At the mention of blushing he began to blush thinking that Levi actually went as far as to give him his cell phone number because he thought he'd want it. The thoughts flying through his mind were bouncing off the walls quickly going from one thought to the next unable to stop.

The first thing he thought was that he needed to thank him, but he didn't want to be the one to text him, after all what would he say if he just texted him out of nowhere? Eren was waging an internal battle when Brianne came back to the desk. She had tapped him on the shoulder causing him to jump in the chair, but he gave her back the seat. Retreating back to his office Eren sat at his desk where he could enter all of Jean's information from the form into the computer while continuing to wage his mental war. He wondered if he sent him a question, maybe then it wouldn't be so bad as simply saying thank you which would wait until he saw him the next afternoon. When the idea finally came to him he grabbed his phone and sent him a text.

**_To: Levi_ **

_Im sorry for leaving my phone in you car. I definitely wont do it again but I have a question what if I can't make it tomorrow afternoon?_

Now that he posed the question he'd have to come up with an excuse of why exactly he wouldn't be able to make it. It would have to be something that would be believable especially since Jean had just seen him a few minutes ago. There were only so many excuses that he could make up that would prevent him from being able to meet him a few steps away from the gym. While thinking he sat his phone down and began getting to work as he began ingesting more coffee. He had completed the data transfer and stored away Jean's membership form in the filing cabinet behind his desk when his phone began blasting the song "S&M" by Rihanna which he didn't even know was on his phone. To prevent it from making anymore noise he grabbed it quickly, turning down the volume and placing it on vibrate before answering the text he had received.

_**From: Levi** _

_I bet you won't. I'm rather surprised that you had the guts to text me. What exactly would be the reason you can't make it? If you can't make it tomorrow than tonight is just fine._

The last thing he expected was for him to move up the time instead. He had hoped he'd push it back if anything. Seeing him so soon meant that he was bound to make a fool out of himself. There wasn't any knowledge that Levi actually liked him or even thought anything good of him. In his eyes he was a child, an annoying child that he loved to _mercilessly_ tease when he found out he found him attractive. Levi was going to tease with that information so long as he lived and he knew it, but he thought maybe he could try to win him over via text. At least through text he couldn't see his blush and he could ask whatever questions he wanted to and he might even get enough gall to push a button or two.

_**To: Levi** _   
_Thats kinda short notice ya know and why are you surprised youre the one that gave me your number_

_**From:Levi** _

_Must I repeat myself? You're too much of a blushing mess to even admit to having a crush on me to my face so the fact you had the guts to text me first makes me laugh a bit._   
_I also don't care that's it short notice. You and I both know you don't do much at that gym of yours so either come talk to me today or tomorrow. Up to you._

Growing a bit bold, Eren decided to see just how far he could push his luck since Levi was throwing his weakness back into his face.

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Im a desk jockey and youre a grease monkey point is both us do important things that neither of us can understand so change it to 8 and I can make it tonight_   
_I dont see what that has to do with anything besides I never said I did or didnt have a crush on you_   
_Dont you have some cars to fix or something_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_Luckily I chose when I work and I can text so long as there's no grease on my hands._ _Fine, no later than 8, and it was what you didn't say ._   
_Actions speak louder than words and a radioactive red blush was enough to tell me everything I needed to know._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Oh how great for you and thank you I do not blush radioactively whatever the shit thats supposed to mean_   
_If I have a crush on you why wouldnt I admit it if you caught me huh I think someone is just too full of himself_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_You really do but it's not a bad look for you, unlike whatever you were wearing yesterday and what was with that fake lip ring?_   
_Oh, do not make a mistake, I am full of myself because I have a damn good reason to be._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Bite me levi_   
_thank you its not fake I actually do have my lip pierced but I dont wear it when I work cause I feel the need to dress at least semiprofessionally_   
_Thats just you saying your ego needs to take a deflation_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_Careful, I might actually. If that was real color me stunned, you should wear it more often._   
_There's nothing wrong with dressing moderately professional but the other end of the spectrum doesn't work too well for you._   
_My ego is at a wonderful level thank you._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Yeah im sure you wouldnt and is that a compliment...wait no...the grounds still warm so hell hasnt frozen over_   
_Thank you so much but I prefer dressing that way so get over it_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_I'll just let you find out the hard way I suppose and what is wrong with me paying you a compliment?_   
_....Did you just tell me to get over it? Oh you're lucky I'm in a good mood._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Why what are you gonna do? you cant point a gun at me from over here_   
_Whats wrong with it is that its confusing_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_I mean I can but I don't chose to. Don't take that so personally, everyone you met has had my pistol aimed between their eyes at least once._   
_How is it confusing, Eren? I'm just saying something nice._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_You dont see why thats confusing you arent nice thats why_   
_That isnt a very comforting thought_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_Okay, maybe not but don't take it to heart just don't fuck up and it won't happen again._

_Hey, I am too nice....well maybe not nice but I'd like to think I'm not always an asshole._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Think again youre mainly an asshole_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_If this me being an asshole I'd hate for you to see me really being an asshole. It is not my intention to be an asshole, while I appreciate the honesty do not call me an asshole again._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_What would you rather me call you_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_I'm not very picky with pet names so just Levi is fine...._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_WHAT youre kidding right_

**_From: Levi_ **   
_No, I prefer my name, but I have work to get back to, do enjoy your day. See you at 8._

**_To: Levi_ **   
_Uh huh you too_

Eren was more than a little confused at the progression of their texts. Levi didn't seem like himself, rather he seemed a bit sassier but less of an asshole. While it was true he was obviously joking and teasing him, he still found that talking to him was actually kind of... nice. Sure, he was an asshole but it was sort of endearing/ Eren found himself liking him a little bit more than he had previously which only led to a bigger dilemma. How was he supposed to face him and everyone else without thinking of him and their conversation? He laid his head down on his desk and for a moment he closed his eyes slowly letting himself fall asleep. It shouldn't have been a surprise that he would have fallen asleep at some point during the day since he normally worked over 12 hours a day anyway. Today, however, was the excuse of 4 hours of sleep. At least the time until would pass with him able to regain some of his cognizance thanks to getting more sleep. Maybe then, he'd be prepared to stare Levi down in front of the others.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back everyone! I hope you are prepared for this story to take off. For the last 4 days I've written 33 pages (hard copy) of the rest of the outline. As I continue to write it I hope you'll stay with me and maybe, just maybe, I can get this thing updating on a weekly schedule! Without further adieu here is chapter 8.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

When he woke up he realized it was a little after 6pm so there he was having slept for 6 hours at his desk. His neck was stiff from the way he was sleeping and his back was now radiating a bullish throb as well. He silently cursed himself for not being able to stay awake and now he had these screaming pains because of it. After he started going through files to wake himself up he suddenly realized that he had forgotten about Marco's client and had hoped that Brianne let her by without too much of a fuss. There was no reason to get up and go ask so he had just hoped for the best while trying to get his thoughts adjusted to work and nothing else.

Work was important but he knew by 7 he wanted to pretend to be working the front desk so he could laugh at Jean's pathetic attempts to try to flirt with Marco. When 6:50 rolled around Eren conveniently emerged from the recess of his office and took a seat at the front desk relieving Brianne for the night. The young girl seemed more than happy to vacate the area and head home for the night leaving Eren to await Jean's arrival. When he came through the door he was shocked to see that he was actually in workout clothes but less shocked to see how much of his muscle shirt was missing. He knew he'd try to woo Marco but he also knew that this was not the way to do it, in a bright yellow muscle shirt with the sides cut down to his hips and a pair of white basketball shorts.

Marco was already waiting on him, dressed in his usual black and grey outfit with his black workout shirt saying Personal Trainer on the back in white letters just in case someone needed something. His grey sweats hid his well toned legs but Eren did know that if he got too hot in the course of the session he would quickly shed the pants for the pair of white spandex shorts beneath them. Jean headed right over to him already exuding his arrogant air, after giving Eren a curt nod when passing the turnstile. In just the initial greeting he could already see the expression of disdain growing on Marco's face as Jean's mouth began moving. Marco gestured towards the back of the gym, near his office, knowing that he was going to have to get a plan together about Jean's height, weight, and diet, for plans of what he wanted to do and the other things trainers kept documented. The two walked back out a few minutes later with Jean obviously having gotten a world of enlightenment though it didn't deter him at all.

Eren looked down checking his phone's time to see how long he could stay to watch the hilarity that was going to be Jean's first session with Marco. He got up and moved towards the door to get a better view as they started. It was clear that Jean had pretty much picked the things he did to show off so Marco was going to put him through the roughest routine. The plan was by no means pleasant as Eren knew first hand how hard his regimes were. No one signed up to train with Marco for the fun of it, that was for sure, and Jean was going to learn that the hard way. Depending on what the goal of the client was depended on what kind of regime Marco would make but knowing that Jean was only there to screw with him he took into consideration that and maybe the fact he was lying and being a teeny bit honest. By the first time Jean lunged for a trash can it was clear that he had been lying about just how much he could handle.

With a good laugh he sent a text to Marco to let him know how bad it had been when their session was done just in case he missed it all. While Jean was busy puking up his guts Marco checked his phone and looked over to the corner of the room giving him a thumbs up before he left. Laughing, Eren headed out of the gym starting his walk down to the garage preparing himself to deal with everyone. Dealing with some of them required a decent amount of energy which he did not have so he'd just have to fake his way through it and hope that Hanji didn't grab him up again. As he was walking he forgot that he didn't know that knock that Isabel had used so he'd just have to wing it and see how well it would work out, which he didn't think would be good, but there was no other way to do it.

He noticed an unfamiliar car in the parking lot but wasn't going to think twice of it. Assuming it to be a customer's car he just headed to the garage door knocking lightly on the heavy metal door. After a few times he pushed the door open discovering it to be unlocked. When he walked in he saw what he suspected to be Eld or Gunther's lower-half under a car. A light chuckle rolled off his tongue as he walked around the car standing at the front of it near the rolling tool box. He had no idea what was going on but he heard a metallic clang a curse leave the lips of the person beneath the car.

 **"Goddammit!** Hey kid, make yourself useful for a bit. Hold this and hand me my 3/16 wrench," Levi's arm extended out from the car taking him by surprise as it was between his feet.

He cringed a bit but took the tool from his hand and turned his head to the side "Uh....I don't know what that looks like. _Simple_ terms."

"What the fuck are you good for then? It's this silver metal stick with an open end and circle end it'll even say 3/16 if you look at it," the tone in his voice was more than condescending anger, but Eren guessed that was mostly due to frustration.

Searching through the drawers he finally found the wrench he was looking for "Here."

He smacked it against his palm and waited for him to speak as he heard him working on changing something that he wasn't even going to ask about "So, I guess you made it on time huh?"

Eren nodded "Yeah I made it on time, in fact, it's only just now 8. I didn't exactly want to get pulled away from that horseface making a fool of himself at my gym but it seemed like I was _beckoned._ ” The sound of a sigh came from beneath the car as he slid out on his back, black hair drenched in sweat and face streaked with grease. Something about it seemed to make him look....incredibly attractive, almost what could be described as grungily sexy. His normally alabaster skin was flecked in dirt, grime, and grease, as was his hair, which was falling around his face as he laid between his legs. He managed a sly smirk before jumping to his feet and grabbing the towel hanging from his back pocket to wipe his hands.

"Let me clean up a bit, and we'll have this chat. I don't enjoy being dirty," Levi shuddered at the very words he spoke as he imagined how grungy he looked.

Putting a hand to his chest Eren shook his head "It's fine, really. You're a mechanic, didn't you know that it was a dirty profession?"

"Of course I did, but don't get the wrong idea, it isn't for you, it's for _me._ I can't **stand** dirt, so I'm going to take a shower. Do not touch anything while I'm gone," he warned lowly. Eren was left standing twiddling his thumbs while Levi headed out of the garage and into the lounge. He had no idea where exactly a shower was hiding in the place, but it was a lot larger than it seemed so it was possible there were a lot of things that he didn't know lurked in the place. Thinking that very thought he walked around the expansive garage looking at the different areas seeing who was stationed where and what they did. It was clear that when Jean had something to do there was a separate painting area but he still had a work bench and it wasn't hard to pick it apart from the others with all the artwork decorating it. True he would never admit it to Jean but just from the sketches in the area he could tell that the guy was extremely talented.

Upon hearing the soft, padding noise of footsteps, startling him as he got lost staring at the art, he shifted quickly to see Levi walk into the garage. Levi glided across the floor, hair still dripping wet, skin still glistening with beads of water. It took him by surprise as he had only been gone for maybe 10 minutes. When he turned to face him he felt heat instantly rise to his cheeks as he was only wearing a pair of maroon sweatpants rolled down to rest lightly on his hips while there was a towel draped around his neck. Eren's eyes fell to a series of particular places on Levi's skin as they roamed over his well sculpted abdomen: a long, jagged, pale pink scar following the jut of his right hip, a magenta rose and hummingbird tattoo on his chest, the silver bars decorating his nipples, and what seemed to be another part of a tattoo at his left hip.

"Yeah, he's pretty good, even if he's still a kid. Now, why are you staring at me like that? Never seen skin before?" Levi's lips curled in an impish smirk.

Eren rolled his eyes sharply turned back to the art staring at Levi from his peripheral "Don't flatter yourself, I was staring at your _ink."_

Looking down at his chest he sighed, rubbing his hand over the colored flesh "Oh yeah, sometimes I forget I have them. When you don't see them you kinda forget they're there."

"I know, I've got my own, one across my shoulders. I don't know why it surprises me that you have them, if anything the eyebrow ring still gets me the most," Eren stated impulsively as he backed up to the car taking a seat on the hood.

Levi scowled "Don't dent that hood or you'll be paying for it. It's just an eyebrow ring and now I guess you see two of my others. Your lip ring surprised _me_ though so I guess we're even. You were quite the rebellious teenager then I take it?"

He shrugged "Not really, my uncle didn't ever really keep me from doing anything. I got the tattoos I have a few years ago after I went to college, and the lip ring was just because I got bored one day. What about you? I find it hard to believe that your parents had let you get away with all _that."_

A light laugh left his lips "Haha, Eren, how old do you think I am? I'm almost 31. It's been a **long** time since anyone tried to tell me what I could and could not do. I've had these piercings since I was about 14, in case you can't tell I'm not a Florida native. I grew up in a _way_ rougher place than Tampa."

"I could tell that much but I wasn't ever going to ask. And there's no fucking way you're **that** much older than me!" Eren shook his head in disbelief as he stared at the toned physique bared to his eyes beneath the bright lighting.

"Well I am, born December 25th, 1985 and I grew up in Los Angeles. Before you ask, no, I wasn't the best damn kid either but we're not here to talk about me," Levi stated calmly as he slithered up to Eren, standing in front of the hood while darting a silver ball over his bottom lip

Eren swallowed hard and looked everywhere but his eyes or his tongue ring "Why _am_ I here, exactly?"

"Because I need you to answer that offer and I don't do that over a text message. I need to know if you're in or out, because what I've asked you to do before this isn't illegal, however, what I am asking now _is_. In return, you do get to go with the team to the races, the parties, and you get what they do. It is up to you, but I need an answer now," Levi's eyes were reflecting the aura of intimidation as he spoke, giving off the powerful feeling he was surely attempting.

Knowing that it would be beneficial to him even if he hated it, he agreed, meeting the composure melting gaze "I'll do it."

A toothy grin spread over his face "Well that's good. Now, since I'm working on your car, I take it you'd rather me drive you there than anyone else?"

Eren immediately turned away from his gaze "I, uh, that's not up to me. It doesn't matter, I mean."

Levi leaned over the hood grabbing Eren's jaw "Eye contact. How many times am I going to have to tell you before you get it? Now, get your fat ass off that hood."

"Hey, I'm **not** a fatass," Eren narrowed his eyes jerking away from Levi's touch.

"I didn't say you _'were'_ a fatass I implied you _'have'_ a _'fat ass'_ because you do have one **hell** of an ass,” he darted his bedazzled tongue out against his lower lip as he made his comment waiting for Eren to realize the difference in his tones.

Eren tilted his head "Are...are you saying you stared at my ass? For _what?"_

A low groan accompanied a hand slamming against his forehead before he grabbed Eren's face staring into his eyes "Well I wasn't doing it for my health. You don't understand do you?"

Suddenly he put it together, eyes widening marginally  "Are...are you _flirting_ with me?"

Levi's eyes rolled for a moment before he nodded " **Duh,** Eren. You're ridiculously slow. I have been staring at you since before we actually met....you just never noticed. I'm not going to do anything but screw with you though, at least, not until you _admit_ it."

"Admit what?" Eren tried to avoid his smoldering, damn tempting bedroom eyes and the intoxicating scent rolling off his skin but he was pulled back.

Holding his gaze for a moment, Levi then leaned over as far as he could reaching his ear, letting his voice lower "That you've got a _thing_ for me."

Eren shivered as the husky tone registered in his ears "I-I'm not telling you **anything."**

"Do you want me to work it out of you then? His lips brushed against the shell of Eren's ear sending another shiver to wrack his body as he chuckled softly "Because I can do that too."

"Preferably n-not. What do you get out of me saying that if you already know so damn clearly?" Hearing his own voice tremble as Levi's breath fleeted over his neck was beginning to make him feel more than vulnerable beneath his leering gaze.

Levi's lips pressed against Eren's neck earning a faultily restrained whimper from his lips "Hmmm, your neck is a weak spot? _Too easy._ I can practically see it streaking through those enrapturing eyes of yours, Eren, but saying it clearly makes me feel better and maybe, just maybe I'll find it in me to be very _nice."_

The tempting, seductive tone of his voice was almost too sweet to resist as his velvet lips grazed his neck again and again "F-fine. I find you attractive, but if you're a-asking if I like you I can't answer that. I d-don't know you well enough."

Levi moved away from his neck placing a hand at his jaw as his fiery blue eyes met those of Eren's swirling with uncertainty "Lucky me, that's a good answer. Now, luckily for _you,_ for I reward the brave."

"Wha--" Eren was still a bit puzzled until Levi's lips met his own. It took more than a second to register the feeling of his warm, soft lips over his but when it did he was bit too stunned to do much of anything. Levi pulled away giving him a more than disappointed expression with his downturned eyes and his hands on his hips. Eren shook his head and slid off the hood of the car as Levi stepped back giving him the space to walk forward. Leaning down, Eren seized Levi's lips, gently lifting his chin with his thumb. There was a split second where he was in control of the kiss but it didn't last quite as long as he would have wished.

Twisting his leg over Eren's Levi effectively flipped him over pressing his back against the bench running his fingers through his shaggy mocha hair. Eren's mind raced but not quite as fast as his hands as they roamed over Levi's exposed torso letting his fingers wrap over his hips pulling him closer to him while Levi's tongue ran over his lip. He parted his lips letting him have access to his mouth as their kiss deepened. Eren could taste the heated sparks on his tongue as he expertly maneuvered it over his own stealing his breath ever so swiftly.

When they parted Levi took a deep breath and nodded "That was **much** better. Was it so hard to admit?"

Eren cleared the trail of saliva from his lip with his forefinger "You didn't give me enough time to react the first time. Don't stare at me so intently and maybe it would be easier." After a moment his brows knit as his voice softened "I thought I was just a kid to you."

"Well that's because I needed to know the truth and what better way than by making eye contact or making you squirm? Both I find to be good tactics. You are a kid but I never recalled saying I had a problem with it. Now, I can get used to having my dinner walking around me, these days it's much too hard to prowl when you're busy," a devilish grin curved his lips as he looked him up and down slowly, eyes scanning his body.

"So, what, I'm here for your tasting pleasure?" Eren cocked his head to the side as Levi placed a heavy hand to his chest.

His voice deepened into it's more alluring sultry tone "Do you have a _problem_ with me wanting to sink my teeth into you?"

"I don't have much of a problem with it so long as you keep your hands to yourself when we're busy," Eren provided as stern of a glance as he could manage under the unwavering eyes.

"I make **zero** promises, Eren, I’ve quite a voracious appetite. I enjoy snacking throughout the day especially when my prey is right in front of me," his grin only grew as Eren grew bolder, leaning down into his ear.

He wanted him to know that he wasn't the only one that had a voracious appetite so he breathed heavily by his ear "I'm young remember? Hopefully you can keep.. _.up_ , yeah?"

Levi pushed him back against the bench, a low rumble vibrating from his throat as his eyes gleamed "Is that a _challenge?_ Be careful of the things you say, they may weigh more heavily than you think."

"It's not, _not_ , a challenge, but I really should be getting back to the gym," Eren smiled lightly as he felt the immense pressure behind the hand pushing into his chest.

"Hmm, I see, well there's a race Saturday night. As per usual we don't know where until an hour before since it's not Annie's race, but I'll come get you when I figure it out. Before you leave, you owe me something," the playful tone of his voice caught Eren's attention.

He wasn't sure what he wanted but it couldn't have been bad "And what is that?" Levi smirked and pulled his shirt, effectively lowering Eren into the perfect range for him to plant his lips against his. It didn't take him by surprise in the least when he felt Levi push against him, in fact, he had been expecting it. He wasn't going to let Levi get away with springing something like their conversation on him so suddenly. Levi didn't think anything of Eren's wandering hands until they hit his thighs as he was leaning farther down than he had to. The motion happened too quick for him to object to it as Eren picked him easily and sat him on the bench behind them making it all the easier on him so he wouldn't have to bend.

Levi shot him a piercing glare as he was placed on the rough surface, twisting his fingers almost painfully into Eren's hair "Don't get cocky just because you're taller than me."

Eren winced slightly but fought against the tug of his hair "Weren't you the one getting cocky because you're older than me? I can play the game too."

He pressed a kiss at Levi's jaw as he released his hair "Maybe so, you tend to brazen up when someone talks down to you a bit, don't you? Authority issue. If you can't stare me in the eyes when you speak so boldly though, keep that pretty little mouth of yours **shut**. Luckily, I have the perfect solution for that." Meeting him halfway Levi grinned as he slid his hand to the back of his neck providing a way to pull him into his kiss. There was no being gentle this go around as he nipped at his lip and jumped down from the bench which he had been placed on. Slamming Eren back until he found the chair at Eld's bench, Levi watched delightedly as he fell into it. Capturing the opportunity Levi then climbed into his lap making it more than a bit clear who was in control and Eren didn't seem to mind it as much as he thought he would.

Placing his hand at his lower back, Eren drug him against his chest as he decided to nip back. Levi let out a small chuckle as it was obvious just how much the both of them were enjoying themselves. While Eren's hand began working it's way around his still damp skin, Levi took it upon himself to slip his hand under Eren's shirt. There was a light shiver from the touch of his chilled skin against the hotter temperature of his own, but he only pushed harder into the kiss letting a small groan be stifled. Eren was too busy losing himself to remember that he said he had to leave but Levi reminded him carefully as he broke the kiss, moving to kiss his neck before speaking.

"I think it's time for you to go now. Wouldn't want the gym worried about their missing owner," his voice was seductively thick as he spoke, letting his lips stay against his flushed skin.

A light whimper sounded from his lips as he tried to bite down on his own lip to keep it from being heard "Ahh....y-yeah, I should be getting back. In order to do that though, I need to be able to get up."

Levi's predatory grin was back after pressing another kiss to his neck, biting lightly to discolor his skin "Oh, I don't think that wouldn't have been a problem in another minute or two, hmm? Go on. I expect to see you Saturday."

As he crawled off his lap Eren stood and smirked as he placed a kiss at Levi's cheek "See you, Saturday, Levi." There was no turning to look back as he wanted to seem like he had at least a trace amount of smoothness. Levi wouldn't believe it because he knew the second he was forced to make eye contact he'd turn right back into a blob of gelatin and remain unable to even finish a train of thought. He didn't know how long he had been there but he knew it seemed like only a few minutes. Of all things, he hadn't expected that to happen, after all Levi was just an unattainable image he had in his head, he never expected him to go that far of all things. The man may have been an asshole more times than not, but Eren couldn't stop thinking about the way he could kiss, the way he could make him forget everything with a simple connection of their lips, and the way he'd peered into his eyes. Something was trapped in those eyes, some big secret, and he wanted to find out what.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome, welcome! We're back to the track! I hope you enjoy this chapter and take solace in knowing this fic will update weekly on Sundays! I look forward to hearing from you all <3 
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

His mind filled with unnecessary, lusting thoughts as he walked back to the gym. He knew just from that, he’d never been with anyone like Levi Ackerman. Sure, it was lust, he was attractive and he had urges to fill, but Levi was doing the same. Boredom and the fact they both had carnal urges was more than likely the culprit here but he didn’t care. He got some ass, information for his thesis, money, a sated curiosity, and his car fixed.

Eren couldn't fathom as to why Levi wanted him, however, he didn’t seem like the type to lower his standards for anyone, let alone some kid he had just met, because there was no way he was Levi’s type. It was then he remembered what Levi had told him, that he had been watching him at the gym as well, which led to the question "Why had he been staring?" Levi’s scent, his shampoo or maybe cologne, still lingered in his nose reminding him of that moment and the secret he'd seen encased in cobalt eyes. As he made it back to the gym it seemed he was just in time to see Jean with his hands on his knees taking in large gasps of air.

Walking over to him and Marco, he couldn't help but laugh "Hahaha, geez Marco, you kill him with one session?"

Marco's eyes flared deep brown as he snorted "...Not quite.... unfortunately. Eren, you have an _interesting_ mark on your cheek right now. Where did you run off to exactly, is this,..... _grease?_ ”

Eren wiped at his cheek the moment Marco swiped a finger over the mark “I wasn’t anywhere _too i_ mportant.”

In between deep breaths, Jean smirked "....He’s a filthy….liar....I know where you’ve-."

Eyes flaring, Eren cut him off "Hey, Jean, how ya faring down there?"

"I think...he's trying to **kill** me," Jean straightened up and leaned into Eren's ear to whisper "you smell like Levi’s cologne and it looks like he left a spot, hmm? You’ll want to cover that up and take a shower."

His laughter took him off guard and as a result he pushed him back towards Marco "I am **fully** aware of that fact, Jean, but thank you for your misplaced concern. Marco, I think he could handle a bit more since he seems to want to run his mouth."

Taking a step to Eren, Marco walked up to his side "Hey now, I'm sure it wasn't anything serious. I would recommend not pissing off the owner Mr. Kirschtein."

"Oh, what's he gonna do?" Jean crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at Eren with an expression of slight contempt.

"Not him, **_me._** Now, you've got about...15 minutes left give or take of the session so I advise you to use it well. I'm sure a few bicep curls with your right arm wouldn't hurt," Marco's eyes flashed once again while he grinned facetiously as he gestured to the right side of his chest. Jean snarled silently and walked over to the shelves of weights, grabbing one of the largest to start with. Eren and Marco both rolled their eyes as he tried to once again show off to no avail. The two silently snickered before Eren slapped Marco on the shoulder and walked back to his office.

While he had hated the way Jean had said it, he was right, he knew that the mark on his neck would need to be covered. The first thing he had to do was take a shower, he needed to try to wash off the overpowering scent of Levi on his skin. Searching around his office he found a spare set of clothes he had under his desk and took them to immediately go shower.Once in the shower he relaxed under the heat of the water, letting the water soothe his aches as he scrubbed at his skin wondering just where else grease could have smeared on his skin. He couldn't help but notice that he hadn't seen Mikasa when he came in, meaning she was wandering around the gym or she had gone out to bring them all back some food. It was a dangerous game to play but he had hoped he could avoid her even after his shower. What Mikasa didn't know wouldn't hurt her, at least, that was Eren's train of thought anyway because there wasn’t a chance in hell that she’d approve of his actions.

Toweling himself off, he quickly changed into his spare change of clothes which was nothing but a pair of red sweatpants and a white t-shirt. Once changed he threw the towel around his neck and headed out into the gym. He got back to his office and managed to avoid doing anything that would draw anymore suspicions. Mikasa had walked into the gym after half an hour, sitting down a box of pizza on the front counter before going to grab Eren. She found him at his desk getting lost in whatever it was that he was typing, so he dragged him by his arm out of the room and outside to the reception desk. Once his eyes met the pizza he was instantly grateful that she pulled him from the black hole of paperwork he had been busy getting sucked into. As he took the first slice of pizza in his hands and sat down, Mikasa gave him an inquiring glance as she narrowed her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

"You went to the mechanic shop didn't you?" her tone was flat but the undertone said she was irritated.

He rolled his eyes as he chewed "Oh yeah, I did. Something having to sign off on parts. How'd you know?"

"Just wondering, don't hang around that fucking grease monkey too long," she leaned over the counter grabbing a piece for herself.

“Thanks for getting food tonight, but I gotta get back to the office and get some more work done." As he spoke his phone vibrated in his pocket, giving him another excuse to get back to his office. He didn't want Mikasa to know about what was going on after all she didn’t like Levi and was sure to voice her opinion about him if she knew what was going on behind closed doors. When he sat down he pulled out his phone and checked the message.

**_From: Levi_**  
Hey, you've got some stuff in the backseat of you car, is any of it anything you need?

Laughing at the terrible excuse to text him, he thought back and remembered that he didn't honestly remember what he had in the backseat. He was, however, happy to hear that he was apparently working on his car though.

**_To: Levi_**  
Not that I know of kinda just threw stuff back there

_**From: Levi**_  
Cleanliness is next to godliness Eren.

_**To: Levi**_  
Then my car is a portal to hell and that explains your god complex. Oh, be sure to ask Jean how his workout went today

From: Levi  
Yes, it most certainly is.....excuse me? What did he do?

**_To: Levi_**  
Tried to hit on my personal trainer who responded by putting him through hell oh and he knows......

**_From: Levi_**  
Oh? Does he now?

**_To: Levi_**  
Mhmm, my trainer noted a smear on my cheek and pointed it out then Jean decided to be a dick about it but only to me as he said I smelt like your cologne and you left a mark on my neck

**_From: Levi_**  
I'll handle it. Do expect to see the two of us Friday in the gym.

**_To: Levi_**  
Alright don’t be too hard on him

**_From: Levi_**  
Really?

**_To: Levi_ **  
No lol I dont care

**_From: Levi_**  
Haha that’s what I thought.  
I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing

_**To: Levi**_  
Great I can get back to the mountain of paperwork I have to do *sarcasm*  
Have a good night Levi

**_From: Levi_**  
Yeah, you too, Eren. Goodnight.

Eren leaned back in his seat trying to ascertain just what in the world his prerogative had been exactly for wanting to see him Friday. He’d remembered he’d said that he wanted to see him on Saturday. Maybe he’d remembered something he’d forgotten to mention once he put his tongue his mouth. Whatever it was he couldn’t exactly say he wasn’t looking forward to it. Any excuse to see him was more than enough of an incentive for him, _especially_ if he got to kiss him again.

God, that man could kiss. Letting his mind wander a bit he tried to recall the suffocatingly amazing intensity of their kisses and the moment Levi had shoved him into that chair. Having him crawl so willingly into his lap was one thing, feeling his teeth scrape his skin as he pulled sounds from his throat he’d never made before was another. Something about him was different and he couldn’t wait to find out just what it was. It was just another piece closer to solving this puzzle that was Levi Ackerman. Was it so wrong to want to be the one to figure him out, see what made him tick? He didn't think so.

A mountain of paperwork from payroll to invoices to taxes and profit margins awaited him once he vacated from the inner workings of his own mind. He was none too thrilled about diving head first into all the work ahead of him but he knew it had to be done. No one else was going to be volunteering to do it anytime soon. While surfing through his precariously perched documents he soon felt the overwhelming need to take a break and begin work on something that couldn’t wait much longer: his thesis.

It took him a moment to switch focus, pushing away thoughts of the gym and trying to focus on his view into a world never to be his. He was going to end up learning a bit about this secretive underworld circuit of crime and so to complete his thesis to the best of his abilities he needed a little more information. Cars weren’t exactly something he knew a lot about neither were the reasons behind why some people raced. Whether it be money, glory, or a thrill, he wanted to get to know more racers, know what made them endanger countless lives just for some sick high.

If he could find out some of these things, delve a little deeper into the inner workings of the groups and the participants maybe he’d actually develop a much more rounded thesis. After all he knew writing such a long thesis was going to be difficult anyhow, if he could add some information it might help him bullshit his way through the rest of it. Hey, he was a college kid after all, procrastination and bullshitting were two abilities he’d practically mastered. While he did want it to be perfect he also knew he barely had time to work and keep everything in line let alone write a 35+ page thesis about something that was more secretive than the drug trade and human trafficking in the US.

The night progressed as slowly as he’d imagined it would but luckily he hadn’t many hours more to pass. After completing the nightly clean up routine he and Mikasa were the last to head out. Eren had been dropped off a little after midnight and he was immediately going to take another shower and head straight to bed. He was tired, his muscles still ached, and mostly he just wanted to get to bed in hopes that when he awoke the time would pass quickly until he was able to get to Levi’s garage. There were things he wanted to know and more things he wanted to experience.

Thursday night had gone just as boringly as he assumed it would have. He hadn’t moved from his office for almost the entire stint of his shift there. It pissed him off a bit but it also made sure that he got a lot of his work done for the day. There were still some payroll things to be fixed and the books for the month needed to be looked over to ensure that everything was correct, but he’d left that to be done tomorrow.

Laying in bed that night with his mind racing with anticipation, it took him a little longer to fall asleep than he’d wished. Once asleep however his mind filled with images of fast cars, the sounds of tires screeching against hot asphalt, and hotter men amongst growing crowds of people. During the night it seemed that he’d tossed and turned, and sitting at his desk hadn’t been great for his body, as when he awoke his aches were much more present. Groaning and dragging himself from bed with heavy limbs, Eren decided he wasn’t much in the mood for business casual and instead opted for a pair of thin sweatpants and a plain v-neck shirt opting for comfortable mobility instead.

Honestly, he was going to be stuck in his office most of the day and behind the front counter playing receptionist what did the way he dressed matter anyhow? Determined to be dressed for himself and no one else he slipped out the front door with coffee cup in tow as Mikasa rang the doorbell. As per most mornings Mikasa was quiet, letting the radio fill the silence as Eren sipped his coffee and down some of his pain medication. He’d hoped that the throbbing aches in his muscles would soon quell, but spending the next several hours sitting craned over papers and a keyboard didn’t exactly make for the best opportunity for that.

Once at the gym both went to their respective offices with Mikasa planning for the arrival of a client within the hour and Eren diving back into the office work that he’d decided to do yesterday. He’d almost regretting leaving some of it until today as it was far too early to be doing such mind wracking work; but it had to be done. When he’d finished sorting through the payroll software and set up to draft everyone’s pay from the gym’s own account, he began to process the books for the gym staring down the income and costs. It was getting a little easier with more people frequenting the gym but alas, his tuition was still going to put a damper on things.

For now he had other things to worry about such as getting the books for the month done therefore his worrisome mind would have to calm down for a bit. While putting on a pot of coffee in the lounge he decided to take a break and head out to the front desk. He could access his thesis research from the computer should he get some of it done while on break from the first task that required his attention. Luckily, he’d seemed to appoint himself there at just the right time as not 40 minutes later the door opened and two men walked in.

Levi was dressed in a rather tight outfit drawing Eren’s eyes a littler harder than he’d cared to admit. A black sleeveless spandex top and a pair of white shorts that seemed to draw more than Eren’s attention as a few of the usual girls turned their gaze to him. Immediately he felt a spurning fire burn his throat but he ignored it as his eyes turned to Jean who’d seemed to not learnt his lesson about showing off. Dressed in an outfit of similar properties as Levi’s Jean was wearing a cobalt blue top with grey shorts, while each had a bag tossed over their shoulder.

Approaching the counter, Levi leaned over it speaking to Eren with a wide smirk “Good morning, Eren.”

Trying to appear unaffected, Eren spoke without glancing up to him “Good morning, Levi.”

Seemingly displeased by the action, Levi rolled his eyes and scanned his card at the turnstile breezing past it as Jean shook his head “ _Gee_ thanks for pissing him off, Jaeger. Now I have to spar with him pissy.”

At his huff, Eren glanced up from his screen “Oh? I said good morning so I don’t know what else he wants from me. As for you, I don’t really care. If you’re sparring shouldn’t you want to take him on while he’s using most of his ability?”

“Uh, **hell no!** He can still put me on my ass without doing that and I _don’t_ need that while Marco’s around,” Jean scoffed at Eren while cursing his luck with bated breath.

Eren snickered “While I bet he’d enjoy watching you get your ass handed to you, he’s not here yet. He’ll be here within the hour though and it also looks like you’re trying to show off which will only make him hate you more.”

“He _hates_ me?” Jean arched an inquiring brow.

“Just guessing honestly because Marco doesn’t like show offs or people like you. They remind him of the kids that used to pick on him so if you want him to like you I suggest you tone it the fuck down. His type is a little different than what you might expect,” Eren shrugged his shoulders and met Jean’s crestfallen amber gaze.

“Oh….he doesn’t strike me as the type that got picked on. What exactly _is_ his type?”

“Well he did get teased, a lot, for what he is. He likes smarts, humor, a bit of sass, and, believe it or not, he doesn’t give a shit about you being well muscled. Actually, I’ve noticed he quite likes lean and thin more often than not. Marco just prefers someone to sit around with and go to the park with, game, or go rock climbing with so I don’t think you trying be such a show off is gonna help you at all.”

While Eren met his gaze Jean nodded slowly “One of those things was not like the others, but you know, thanks Eren. I’ll owe ya one seeing as how I think I can _definitely_ get him to come out with me one night. Scrawny, sarcastic asshole is practically stamped on my forehead.”

“Yeah, sure is. Just keep quiet about Levi and I, it’s nothing more than a way to kill some boredom between us,” Eren spoke as gestured towards Levi on the opposite side of the room near the punching bags.

Jean shuddered and began to walk away towards Levi “You got it. I can’t see what you see there but I’ll keep quiet ‘bout it,” before completely walking off to get started he turned his head over his shoulder and lowered his voice “just a heads up about him he doesn’t like being ignored and always remember to make eye contact when you speak to him. Anything less makes him feel like you’re lying and distant. He’s got some _serious_ trust issues.”

Eren cocked his head to the side for a moment before nodding as he walked off “Uh, alright, thanks.” He had honestly not the slightest moment of apprehension when it came to speaking to Jean but he hadn’t an idea why. At first, Jean had given him this aura of egotistical and condescending but it seemed like once he spoke to someone about something a little more serious he’d toned down his attitude a bit. He’d wish him well with Marco even though, to be honest, he didn’t see him getting anywhere. What Jean had said about Levi he knew for the most part while the trust issues he kind of gathered. It made him wonder why Levi would choose to drag him through this world, his world, if he didn’t trust him. Was it so Levi could try to change his mind; make him see things differently, the way that he saw them, or maybe to make him understand it all? Was it so he’d have someone with a connection to the police or was it something else entirely?

No matter Levi’s dictation for his reasoning, he still felt inclined to slip some details to Reiner when it was all over with. He’d been threatened into his involvement in the first place and the second he got what he needed and his car was finished, he owed them not a drop of loyalty which would more than likely ruin more of Levi’s trust. Screwing with Levi’s ability to trust someone wasn’t exactly something he liked the thought of, but they were breaking the law and endangering countless lives, something would need to be done about them and everyone else. If he happened to casually drop to Reiner the hot spots for the races then even that would be enough in his mind.

His mind filled with various thoughts of the aftermath of this entire scandal but was stripped away when he heard the sounds of Levi’s and Jean’s voices echoing down the hall. If he leaned over the counter he could catch just the very small glimpse of Levi and Jean sparring hand to hand and it seemed like they both had rather decent reflexes. By the sound of his fist slamming into the padding, Jean had a harder punch but Levi appeared to be faster and much lighter on his feet. That being said, from the gasp Jean sharply inhaled to the sound of Levi’s fist against his ribs, it was clear he was no feather hitter either.

Eren snickered at the hit and sat back down at the counter returning to his work. Jean’s workout with Marco wouldn’t be until later in the night but he still couldn’t wait until Marco came strolling through the door. The chair at the reception desk hurt his back a little more than normal but the ache would be worth dealing with if it meant getting to laugh. A distraction no matter how miniscule was certainly worth waiting for. With half an hour scattered to the wind and a few fake smiles later, Marco was walking through the door in his usual outfit of a “Personal Trainer” shirt and a pair of white sweats. It was unusual for Marco to in such a bright color but he didn’t think lime green was such a bad color on him. At least people would be able to find him if they needed something.

Almost immediately Eren began to snicker as Marco rounded the corner to get to his office. Upon taking a single step into the area, Marco groaned and turned to Eren with a snarled lip in more than just a hint of disgust.

“Oh you have **got** to be kidding me right now,” Marco groaned as he walked backwards to the reception desk placing a hand on his forehead in frustration

Eren shook his head “Nope, not kidding. Apparently he decided to come in with Levi this morning and he’ll be back by the time he gets off work.”

Marco exhaled, exasperated, as he leaned onto the countertop “Well, if he passes out from exhaustion it won’t be my fault.”

“Well considering he doesn’t do too much manual labor working I don’t think it’ll be a problem,” tossing him a shoulder shrug Eren watched as a glimmer of curiosity sparked in Marco’s umber eyes.

Arching a perfectly groomed brow, Marco posed his question “What exactly does he do at that shop anyway, sweep the floors?”

Withholding a giggle, Eren smirked “I mean probably if Levi bitched at him to do it but he’s actually a painter and a does a lot of the detailing. I will never let him catch me saying this but his work is actually incredible. He’s _extremely_ talented and I saw some of his freehand artwork. I definitely don’t mind letting him paint the Civic and tint the windows. If you still wanted to matte the GT-R I’d say ask him about it later.”

A bit surprised Marco blinked slowly before responding “Really? You want _me_ to trust him with my car just because he has to work on _yours_? I think I’ll wait to see how yours comes out before I confirm but I might ask him a bit about it. I do _really_ want to murder out the GT-R.”

“It’d look pretty fucking sweet. I never knew you’d be so concerned about your car, Marco,” he gave him a small smile adding a bit of sarcasm to his voice.

“You don’t know _a lot_ of my secret pleasures. My car is very important to me. I originally bought it for my sister and she had it until she got a car herself so it’s got some sentimental value. Kinda like how you refuse to get another car while they work on your heap of scrap metal. I guess it’s time to face the music of the show-off now,” he gave Eren a nod as he turned to walked off, heading through the gym to get to his office in the back. Eren shook his head as he walked off hearing Jean and Levi sparring a bit harder which was, most likely, due to Marco walking through and Jean wanting to show off. Marco was attractive sure, anyone could see that, and even Jean was attractive but he still couldn’t picture the two of them together. It would be one hell of a trial to see if he could win him over, but he gave Marco that push to speak to him and that was all he could do.

After he found someone to run the reception desk for him, Eren retreated to his office hoping to get more work done since he’d seemed to enjoy leaving it to be done at another time. It was beginning to feel like if he didn’t do it then he certainly never would. Distractions were to be minimized as he shut his door and plugged in his headphones while setting to work for a couple of hours. He'd hoped that in the pursuit of his work that all other things would fade from his mind such as how **fantastic** Levi had looked in that outfit.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd welcome back this week! I hope you've been looking forward to more fast cars and pretty boys! This story has been finished completely and there will be no need to worry about it falling behind in updates in the future! Just sit back and enjoy the ride! 
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

He’d been working non-stop, constantly typing away while light music flowed from his headphones when he could have sworn he heard a knock at his door. It was strange for it to be a knock, most of the staff simply walked right in. Rising from his chair and unplugging his headphones he paused just to make sure he’d actually heard a knock. Once he’d heard the light rap against the wooden door again, he pulled it open surprised to see Armin standing on the other side.

Cocking his head to the side Eren inquired as to why he was there “Something up Armin?”

Stepping out of the way with a grin wider than the Grand Canyon, he gestured toward Levi “You had someone asking for you, Eren, I had a feeling you’d holed yourself up in your office working yourself until your eyes bled.”

With an eye roll, Eren sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose moving his glasses “Hmph, I don’t stay in here  _ all _ the time, Armin, but thank you. Levi was there something you needed that you couldn’t get from anyone else?”

Brushing Armin’s side as he walked off, leaving Eren with a wink and snicker, Levi pushed himself into Eren’s office taking a seat in his chair “Of course. I need to see you tonight at the garage if you can manage.”

Pushing up his glasses, Eren put a hand on his hip “And may I ask what for?”

Levi shrugged as he twirled Eren’s pencil in his fingers “I need to go over some things with you, get you caught up to speed, and give you something to do for me later.”

With a bit of sarcasm, Eren rolled his eyes yet again “Oh, gee, is that  _ all _ ?”

Rising from his seat, Levi took a few strides to meet Eren’s chest, staring up at him “Not really, but the rest can be discussed later this evening. Interesting choice of wardrobe for the day.”

Feeling his cheeks redden at making eye contact in such a close proximity Eren nodded “Mhmm, well I woke up hurting pretty bad this morning and I wasn’t going to be behind the front desk so I opted for being comfortable. Is that a problem for you?”

Chuckling, Levi placed his hand lightly at Eren’s hip, thumb moving around his waistband “Oh no, not at all. In fact,” sliding his hand up Eren’s chest he moved to place it at the back of his neck before dragging him down “I think I rather like it.”

Eyes widening at his rather blatant come on Eren stuttered out his sentence “I-I uh….t-thank you?”

“What are you so  _ flustered  _ for Eren?” As he closed the distance between them, Levi pressed his lips into the sensitive skin of his throat, just over the mark he’d made the last time they were together. Biting his lip to keep the surprised squeak from leaving his lips, Eren’s hand immediately to the small of his back as Levi stood on the tips of his toes. 

“Levi,” his breathy whisper of his name made his throat vibrate with something he would have compared to a slight purr “I have to get to my work.”

“Eren, your paperwork can wait. From what your friend was telling me, you practically  _ drown  _ yourself in all these numbers. Learn to relax and take a distraction when it comes to you,” Levi nipped his skin, pinching it between his canine teeth before releasing him from his hold.

Blinking a bit slow, Eren shook his head as he met stormy, steel blue eyes “I’m not drowning. I just have a gym to run, a thesis to write, and to plan for the gym’s next upgrade.”

Levi groaned and grabbed his shirt, gathering the material in his fist as he led him around to the desk slinging him into his chair as he took his place in his lap reminiscent of the day before last “Sounds like you could do with some  _ stress relief _ . Why don’t you let me help you while Jean’s busy trying to impress your freckled trainer?”

Unable to do much more than nod, Eren gave a shake of his head as Levi fidgeted around in his lap “Uh I-I,” before he could say much of anything else Levi’s lips were stealing his and the rush of chilled skin ran over his stomach. The sweet taste of Levi’s lips over his own was almost as intoxicating as the feeling of his hands over his body.... almost. With the feverish kiss draining all of his resistant will, crushing his sense of work and play, Eren gave into the push. Damp hair and the smell of chlorine wafting from his skin, he’d realized that Levi had been in the pool just a few moments ago so it was no wonder his skin was cool to the touch. Sliding his own hand to Levi’s hip, Levi took the action as a will to rock his hips.

Tightening his fingers around the prominent bone of his hip, following along with the viper tattoo coiling around it, Eren pulled back from the kiss and almost immediately Levi’s teeth grazed his neck. Leaning his head to the side, Eren closed his eyes and gave him a wider area to work with as Levi set to grinding his hips. If this was the kind of distraction Levi had in mind for him, he began to wonder if it was such a bad thing to see him all the time as maybe he’d be distracting him often.

In the moment Eren let a soft moan roll from his lips Levi spoke against his throat “Mmm, I  _ like _ that sound Eren, how about you make it again for me?”

With a smirk, the hand in Levi’s hair tangled and he yanked him back, tossing his other arm over his shoulder as he leaned up to whisper breathily by his ear “ _ Mmm, Leevvvii~ _ …”

He could feel Levi’s muscles tense as the moan left his lips “Dammit Eren.”

“What is it,  _ Leeevvii? _ ” Eren moved forward, dropping his hands to Levi’s hips as he nipped at his exposed neck.

“I’d planned to tease you for snubbing me this morning, but I can’t do that when you say my name like _ that, _ ” he grit his teeth as Eren kissed his neck but the very moment his phone rang, he didn’t miss a beat answering it “Hello?” Eren continued his actions pulling his skin between his teeth to leave his own mark on his porcelain skin. It only took a few minutes for him to finish the phone call and slide his phone back into the band on his arm “Well, as much as I enjoy your mouth Eren, I have to go to work.”

Pulling away from his throat, he looked up to Levi giving him a dejected expression “Then go to work, Levi, it’s not like you won’t see me later tonight around…..”

Filling in the blank Levi smiled “6. Everyone should be there though so I won’t get to make you say my name like that again.”

Eren shrugged and grinned impishly “Who’s to say I’ll _ ever _ do it again?”

“I’ll be fucking  _ damned _ if I don’t make you say it. Now I’ll see you later,” Levi climbed out of his lap and sauntered out of the room rather victoriously. Eren exhaled heavily and leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling wondering just what Levi would have to catch him up on. What exactly else did he need to know about the outfit? He guessed he’d find out in about 7 hours. Until then, it was trying to clear his head, calm his heartbeat, and get back to working.

That thought of going to see him in a few hours was enough to fuel him to keep working. He really wanted to know just what it was he had in mind but in order to make time feel as though it was going faster he was going to need to do something other than stare at the clock in hopes his unknown Jedi powers kicked in. With work to be done and time to kill, he figured he might as well dive back into it and let it take over his mind. Numbers were much easier to think of, something concrete and unmoving, as he let the time breeze by him.

He never would have thought that he would want anything to do with the world of street racers but it was exciting to say the least. At least he assumed the knot in the pit of his stomach was from that. It was more the thrill of learning about something not everyone ever could as codes of silence were often too strong to permeate. He was going to get his first inside look at the entire world with a guide who was more than a bit popular which he hoped would let him gain a whole lot more information. His first thought was that getting out of the office and going out to be social was something he hadn’t done since Marco convinced him to go to a EDM nightclub in Miami. The second thought was that he wasn’t doing this to have fun, he was doing it to gain intel to write his thesis on, get his car fixed, pay his tuition, then move on without ever looking back.

When his phone finally blared with the alarm he’d set Eren reached over and dismissed it, swiping at the screen lazily. While the time had passed he hadn’t realized how tired he’d gotten while staring away at figures and projections. It was all blurring together and so he’d definitely considered it time for a break.  _ ‘Maybe by the time I get back I’ll be able to finish it all, _ ’ he thought before laughing at the idea of returning the next morning to no paperwork. No matter the day, there was always paperwork.

Scoffing at that he decided to finally push back from his desk and stretch just a bit before heading out. It was going to be an interesting night for sure, so on his way out he locked the office door and told Brianne at the front desk that if anyone asked he stepped out for coffee. Of course anyone who needed him, and was likely to ask, knew where he was most likely to run off to. 

The walk to the garage seemed to go much faster…..maybe he was walking a bit faster, taking longer strides in anticipation or maybe it was something else. No matter the cause behind it, Eren ended up arriving just before 6pm. Just before he could knock on the heavy door it pulled open to the tune of Isabel who was grinning ear to ear as she always was. He’d began to wonder just what the fiery girl had to be smiling about all the time.

“Well, welcome back Eren, we’ve been informed you’re not running parts with me anymore, Gopher,” she slung an arm over his shoulders all too familiarly as he turned to her brow arched.

Removing her arm from his shoulder Eren sighed “That’s what I’m told. Speaking of being told things, where is the midget?”

Upon glancing around the garage Levi was the only one missing and at his comment he heard a snicker from Hanji “Hahaha, he went to grab something from the garage.”

Curious, Eren cocked his head to the side “But, uh, we’re  _ in _ the garage.”

“His personal garage, idiot,” Jean snorted with a huff.

Eren simply rolled his eyes at the jab before questioning Isabel “So, if he has his own garage, why do you do all the work on the race cars here, instead of there? Seems like it would be easier to hide.”

“We’ve got more, _better_ , tools at our disposal here and more space than we do at his place. I mean, he uses it to keep the cars there ‘cause god forbid someone even  _ look  _ at one of ‘em wrong,” Eld spoke up as he leaned against his chair, which immediately made Eren avert his gaze.

Jean nodded with a bit of pride behind his wide grin “Yeah no doubt. Only took me 3 years to be able to even look at the Z without a smack on the head. I still can’t believe he let me talk him into painting it green!”

A bit of a gag sounded in the back of Eld’s throat as he shot back to Jean “That was a bad idea, that thing is  _ hideous _ now. Like, and you wonder why he won’t even let you touch the Camaro.”

“That’d actually be because I promised no one else would  _ ever _ touch her besides me, and I happen to like the green, though I have thought of changing it up a bit, maybe a blue of some sort. I don’t know. We’ll see.” Kicking the door open while his arms held some parts, Levi came strolling into the garage covered in dirt and grime from head to toe. There was grease in his hair, streaked across his skin, dirt covering his snowy skin, and he was awful sweaty. Eren tried to keep himself from staring too hard at the sight and folded his arms over his chest.

“Oh hells yeah! I think a nice electric blue would do real nice on her, maybe change the underlights to purple or green. It’d light up that blue real pretty, maybe get a holographic coat on her too.” It seemed that the idea of painting lit up Jean’s eyes like a Fourth of July party in the south as they glimmered excitedly.

Levi nodded “Sure, sounds good, but first, the information for tomorrow’s race. As of right now we’ve got news from the promoter for the time not the venue. It’ll be around midnight. I’m not dragging out anything big for this race, it’s a simple win. We make this our 7th we’re only 8 away from our golden ticket, and you know what that means,” at that moment there was a flicker of malice hiding in his eyes, it would have been missed if Eren would’ve blinked, but he knew something was up with these races. “We need to win 7 races tomorrow night to qualify for the next race. I know we can do it, but they’re only going to get bigger and harder from here so get prepared. We’ll meet up tomorrow night before everything for last minute inspections and hope we get the venue then. Eld, I need you to get started with upgrading the fuel injectors and the crankshaft. Gunther I need you to get the new head studs on, they’re ARP 8740 alloy so these’ll last. Hanji, I need you to go grab the books for this month for Eren. Is, if ya feel like helping me I can use someone under the Civic helping me on it while the guys mess around with these. Eren, I know you’re good with numbers, why don’t you help make Farlan’s job a bit easier and go over the books or help Hanji if she needs something. You may know paperwork but you don’t know _ shit _ about cars so just do as you’re asked. Jean, I want a new look for tomorrow night, come up with something sure to get us noticed. Make us stand out, but look good, got it? You’ve all got jobs to do, now get to them!"

“Yes’ir.” The chorus of responses to his demands were uttered in unison and then everyone was off to their own respective parts. Levi disappeared with Is to go work on Eren’s car while Hanji went off to the office, Jean went to the paint room to begin testing colors, Eld drove in the Z, and Gunther popped the hood with the two going immediately to work leaving Eren in a daze. Unsure of what to do, Eren stood frozen, awaiting for someone to tell him what to do. Once Hanji returned she thrust him a large binder filled with papers. He stared blankly at her unsure of where exactly he was supposed to deal with the mess in his arms or what exactly it was. 

“Uh…..,” Eren started as he readjusted his hold “what is this exactly?”

Hanji grinned wolfishly “All of our income and expenses for the last month, from parts to the power bill. Farlan is a good bit behind on the books.”

Eyes bulging at the size of it, Eren shook his head “What?! All this in a  _ month?! _ Holy shit! No  _ wonder _ he’s behind. I take it I need to cook them a bit?”

“That’s the idea,” Hanji smirked at him as she took her place behind her desk “but I mean if you don’t know what things do and what parts go where it might be harder to hide certain expenses so come sit with me and I’ll help you as I plan this next build.”

Once she patted the seat beside her, Eren gladly accepted the invitation “Thanks, yeah, I don’t really know much about cars. I, uh, I don’t much like being _ in  _ them either.”

She’d tossed him a curious glance for his comment but ultimately glossed over it and began looking over his shoulder as he flipped open the books “Okay well it might be kinda hard to hide things in other expenses when you aren’t sure about what goes where and does what so I’ll try to help you a bit.” While he began to sort through the various forms of car part orders he stole glances towards Hanji's screen. Highly detailed blueprints were being mocked up of various engines and what looked to be the 350Z and several other cars. Whatever it was going on Hanji seemed to have quite the meticulous eye for detail and one hell of an imagination.

He spent an hour detailing out ways to hide certain extra parts for their cars by making them into something else. If there were racing parts going into a car he put them into a different name and pulled their receipts placing them into a different car make of a customer and creating fake account for each of them. Feeling the pang in his gut from more than highly illegal activities Eren decided to put a stop for one thing at the time. Before too long he had to get back down to the gym so there wasn't much he could do at a time. 

The moment he closed the hefty book he shifted to Hanji "Hey, thanks for your help but I need to leave and get back to my gym."

Just as he was rising from his seat Levi strolled back up wiping grease from his fingers "Eren, planning on leaving so soon? I need to have a word with you before you depart so follow me." Eren simply shrugged his shoulders and turned on his heels to follow Levi into a different section of the garage where he was met with his car. Front end still stripped and missing, yet windshield fixed and open engine cavity Eren stared at his mangled car. 

Eren sighed dejectedly as he stared at his vehicle "My poor baby..."

"I'm fine," Levi snickered "but no, don't worry I'm tuning the engine and tweaking some gaskets. I told you that I would inform you of the races and so I will. Tomorrow night's race will be one of the many in my future. Willy Wonka style it's about a ticket, a golden ticket, and I can't even get the chance to get it until I prove myself. There are 17 qualifiers set up by.....let's call them  _ anonymous benefactors _ across the country. I need to be at the top of 15 of those and I will get my invitation to a regional race in Texas. There I will find another race... should I be one of 4 to advance to the final race."

"Why?" Eren asked unable to quell his curious tongue.

"Glory and a high like  _ nothing _ else," Levi answered hastily as he quickly shuffled back to the car "but your car will be put on hold until I get back. I will come to pick you up tomorrow night. Since this race is by one of the big time promoters I don't, and can't, know all the details beforehand. I know it will be around midnight so give me your address and I'll be there before the race."

A bit hesitant on the idea of Levi picking him up from the house Eren shook his head "Nah, that's okay, I live way out in the sticks so you don't wanna drive that car all the way out there."

Levi sighed "Would you rather have me pick you up at the gym? I didn't think so. I'll send you a text before I arrive as is courtesy."

"Okay," Eren smiled "but don't blame me for how gross your car gets on the way out."

With an impish grin Levi chuckled "Well then I guess you can  _ wash _ it for me, huh?"

Grimacing Eren rolled his eyes "Not funny, Levi."

"What?" He feigned ignorance as he placed a hand to his chest "I simply meant run it through the wash, Eren, but my, what were  _ you  _ thinking?"

Brow arching Eren shook his head "No, you  _ didn't _ . Ass."

"Oh you got me," Levi chuckled "now, you go back to your gym and I'll be in touch. I have some  _ real  _ work to do." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For anyone with a taste for music: [here](https://open.spotify.com/user/kattheirin/playlist/4F7hJlCNEygU8r4EwFKKsO) is the playlist I used for creating this story. It's number one theme song, however, is Set Me On Fire by Thousand Foot Krutch. I hope for those who take a listen you'll enjoy it though prepare for some various mixes of genres.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright I hope you guys have some fun here and pick up the hints that have been dropped along the way! You're all smart cookies so I think when the multitude of them fall in this chapter you'll get it. On the horizon lies Levi's past and I may begin to update this story twice a week so we'll see if you guys are up for that :3 
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Eren gave another roll of his eyes and retraced his steps to make it back to the main section of the garage. Upon his arrival he soon departed waving farewell to everyone with a smile and trying to get back to the gym as soon as possible. At this rate no one would be believing that he was out making a coffee run when he didn't even return with coffee and it took him over an hour. When he returned to the gym he noticed Marco busy working out, which was a bit odd, he often had a client at this time slot. Perhaps his client was a no show and he was making due with his available time, after all, a personal trainer needed to remain in shape. 

Brushing off the oddity he slipped unseen into his office where he had a new piece of his thesis to begin. Knowing that there were people around the states, and potentially around the world, that funded these races was a whole new thought. If these people were spending money to fund races why would they do it? Was it purely for fun, to be a spectator to the event as if a sport, or was it something far more sinister? The desire to know ate at the back of Eren's mind. So many things could be at play here and what was with these promoters helping establish the races? How were they paid and were they a part of the benefactor's plan or were they simply to garner the publicity and bring in the racers? The longer he stayed in this world the more he'd learn and the more he could out.

At the end of the night he was thankful for Mika taking him away from his computer. His eyes stung and he needed to get some sleep, but trying to put a stop to his overworking brain was almost impossible. Before he was able to fall asleep that night he spent several more hours working on his thesis since he'd had both the ability and the motivation to do so. When he awoke the next morning he was a bit groggy but nonetheless was able to proceed most of the morning's daily chores. Pouring himself over more paperwork meant just another nap where no one could see and a lot more coffee so that he'd be able to stay up later. He still wasn't aware of how long the race would be or how long it'd be before he'd get home so he was taking each chance for a nap he could get.

Unfortunately there wasn't much sleep to get since problems seemed to have been popping up the second one was solved. From clogged intake filters in the pool to busted machines, Eren's day had decided to run him near ragged. Once it seemed to slow down he took a red pen and wrote  _ "Do Not Disturb *only knock in case of level 8 emergency or higher*" _ on a sign that he then taped to his door. There were other people in the gym to run to if there was a problem, they didn't always need to start at the top of the ladder. If he hadn't delegated the task to someone else via the door sign he knew he'd have spent hours being a maintenance man. At least one way he was able to sleep for a couple hours before he received a text from Levi.

**_From: Levi_ **

Hey I need that address

**_To: Levi_ **

892 Lemming Drive. It's kinda hard to see in the dark though. Short drive, hedges on the sides, ditches on the sides of the drive so just be careful.

**_From: Levi_ **

Noted. I'll try to remain as careful as possible just keep an eye out, we wont know the venue for a few more hours but be ready the moment I arrive. Don't keep me waiting.

**_To: Levi_ **

I'll do my best

He rolled his eyes at the short series of text messages and returned to staring down at his work. As he'd said there were several more hours until midnight and the location of the races had yet to be discovered. For Eren the fact of the matter was that he could certainly afford to return to napping and close the gym down early or simply leave it to Mikasa to close. Come the time he'd simply asked Mikasa to drive him home 2 hours before the end as she had no client coming in and she would be able to close up the gym. On the half hour drive back Eren took the time to decide on his attire. Something simple such as a pair of jeans and an open button up shirt would surely do for the evening. 

With a wave and hug of farewell Eren headed inside to locate his clothing choice and head to the bathroom to shower. Afterwards he slipped in his lip ring, dried his hair, and pulled on his clothes. Emerald green button up shirt, charcoal undershirt, dark jeans, and black Chuck Taylors completed his ensemble for the evening and so he used the rest of his time to try to relax. His nerves seemed to be fraying at the thought of having to spend the evening with everyone but mostly, the thought of having a god only knew how long of a car ride alone with Levi kept him on edge. 

Upon pouring himself a cup of coffee there was a surprisingly bold knock at the door. Jumping nearly out of his own skin Eren stepped over to the door with shaky cup in hand, opening it with the other. In front of him stood Levi dressed in a pair of black cargo pants, mid-calf laced boots, a white undershirt, and of course his leather jacket. Levi had no need to wear such attire though he assumed it made him feel like more of a badass as he drove that Camaro. While he stood there gaping like a goldfish out of water he watched Levi's pierced brow rise and his lips curl into a delightfully impish smile.

"Are you done staring?" Levi snickered sarcastically. 

Eren rolled his eyes "Wasn't staring for why you  _ assume _ . I guess I should finish my coffee before we leave considering I'm probably not going to be allowed to take it with me."

"You assume correctly," Levi stated as he gestured towards the cup "since I don't even drink anything in it. God forbid I'd use your skin as upholstery if you spilt  _ anything _ on it. It's going to take us about 45 minutes to get to the venue. Isabel, Jean, and Hanji are already 10 minutes off so they'll be able to tell us if anything happens while we're out. Down your coffee and let's head off." Obeying the directive Eren took a large gulp of his coffee, grabbed his keys, and placed his mug down on the counter before heading outside. Levi led the way to the car and opened his door for him which he thought a bit strange but nonetheless thanked him and slid into the seat. 

On the drive Eren leaned over a bit and glanced towards Levi "So.....where are we headed to  _ exactly _ ?"

He shrugged "Don't really know. Some abandoned airstrip out in the middle of nowhere. Apparently the promoter is a very popular guy, been to a few of his races myself, but he always holds them in very private, very  _ secluded _ areas. I've spoken to the guy once or twice but I know he uses a voice distorter and always wears the weirdest fucking mask... he also really likes the color purple. After the races though he holds the best parties but only the winners are invited so look forward to it. I never stay for more than a few minutes just for common courtesy but we should enjoy it."

Trying to get the information straight Eren's brows knit and he shook his head "So, why would he need to do that? Also, why does he throw parties? Seems _ odd _ ."

"Doesn't want to reveal his identity. We're illegally racing so go figure he doesn't want people to see his face or know his voice. The people who pay him for his services probably don't even know his real name. I do hear at some parties he takes his mask off and things but I have yet to personally see that. The parties are his way of sliding on the better known info to his winners. Certain winners get,.....let's call them, perks for now," Levi answered cryptically. 

"Gee, still sounds sketchy," Eren laughed a bit, still not exactly keen on the idea "but I guess whatever it is I'll sit back and watch either way. Aside from be on cop watch anything else I need to do?"

"Hmmm," Levi paused before he came to a stop sign and leaned over to extend a hand to his cheek "don't distract me too much. I have to keep my head in the game and out of the clouds."

Grinning Eren chuckled "And by _‘out of the clouds’_ you mean my pants?"

"Something like that," he admitted before stealing a gentle kiss "though  _ after _ the race, I'm all yours if you wish it."

Pushing him back Eren issued a challenge "I guess that'd depend on how well you do tonight. It's only fair that we sneak off somewhere to have a little fun only if you've _ earned _ it."

"Extra incentive? Do I get a certain  _ reward _ if I do extremely well? Like earn 10 grand?" Levi grinned salaciously awaiting his answer before driving on.

Thinking of how his night may go, Eren decided it couldn't be so bad to agree "Sure. I'll give you a very  _ specific _ kind of reward if you can earn 10 grand tonight.....which how much of that is mine, exactly?"

"Around a 13th so about 750," Levi answered quickly before kissing him on the cheek and driving past the stop sign "and I look forward to my reward when I earn it." While Levi returned his attention to the road Eren began to wonder why exactly Levi had thrown out the number 10,000. This seemed a bit too easy for him to just agree to but then again that was a very large number and the likelihood of him earning that was slim. He wasn't even completely sure how much he made at the races but he did know how much he spent in parts that went back into his cars. The answer was a  _ lot _ . Something still felt off about it all even if Levi appeared to be giving him the straight.

Looking into those turbulent eyes.....Eren knew much more than glory awaited him at the end of all this. Doing this for his so called "high" wasn't the main reason, sure, it could have been a factor in it but there was no way in hell a man like Levi did this for something he could get off a drink or a hit. No. There was a secret motive beneath all of it and he wanted to know what exactly it was. Levi didn't seem like the kind of man to just be doing this for something like highs or glory or women or men. Something else was his reward at the end of it all, he seemed to work best that way, and he was keen to find out what exactly would drive him to the brink of extremity. 

For the remainder of the duration of the ride Eren sat back letting his mind run harder, faster, farther. He was too preoccupied with trying to weasel his way into Levi's head than with the fact they were pulling onto a dirt road out in the swamps. A small, privately owned air strip sat in the center of the hangar district with just a long enough straight away to run. Cars were everywhere, aligned in a vast circle with hoods popped and drivers and spectators alike waiting on everyone to finish arriving. It seemed for certain this was an invitation only party when Levi pulled up to the front of the gate. Handing over a gold leafed, cream and navy invitation card the two were allowed past and the crowd began to split.

Rolling through the massive gathering of people Levi drive slowly until they were beside the now seemingly deep orient blue Nissan 350Z. Vibrant violet underlighting replaced by a soft green and Jean seemed to have even followed through on the coat of holographic paint that shifted color depending on the angle of the view. Alongside the doors were black and grey roses with shaded skulls. If Levi had wanted the Z to be gawked it that was the perfect way to do it and Jean was more than a bit proud of his handiwork as he braced himself against it. When Eren and Levi exited the Camaro, Eren walked over to join Isabel, Jean, and Hanji while Levi tinkered around beneath the hood.

"Good to see ya made it, Jaeger," Jean chuckled as his eyes raked over his dress.

Eren nodded "Yeah, thanks. Nice paint job."

"Thank you," he grinned radiantly before leaning in to whisper "so, uh, you and boss are a good, almost  _ hour _ late to the party. We had to wait on you before the festivities could begin. Mind telling me what you were  _ doing _ ?"

"We fucked in the car," Eren offered before turning his gaze around to scan the crowd.

Jean sighed "Fine, don't tell me, but you mind maybe being on time next time? This promoter isn't exactly known for his pati---" Before he could finish his thought a man a few inches taller than himself in a pair of the most ridiculous pleather pants he'd ever seen. Mulberry leather pants, a spandex lilac tanktop, a white bandana tied around his forearm covering his skin, and a feathered masquerade mask covered in pink and purple plumes. Whatever this man was aiming for he had no idea but the bright ass doc martens on his feet and clinging clothing along with his mask gave off an idea of the fact he was one  _ hell _ of an egocentric. Clearly he wanted all eyes on him.

A low, garbled, electronic voice sounded as the man placed a ringed hand on Levi's shoulder "Well, Mr. Ackerman, thank you for  _ finally  _ joining us. Next time I would appreciate you being more prompt even with your crew arriving first....and a new face among them? We cannot begin without our racers so please remember come future events."

Levi shook the man's hand with smile "Of course, Gallinule, please forgive me. I do have a new hand on the deck. His name is Eren," whistling and gesturing for Eren to come over Levi introduced the two "Eren, this is our wonderful host for the evening he goes by the moniker Gallinule."

" _ Pleasure, _ " Gallinule stated softly as he outstretched a hand "I hope you're ready to begin." Eren could do much less than respond before the man's voice rose to higher volume and began to address those gathered "The first race is in exactly 3 minutes at the top of the hour. Our board has been drawn up so when you are all ready the alarm will sound and racers will approach the strip, bets in hand." Eren glanced around searching for this board he spoke of only to realize that it was more than likely a metaphorical board in which he arranged the drivers himself. For a while he sat back with Levi and the others watching as various racers were pitted against one another. It wasn't too surprising when he'd seen several of the same faces from the last race. Specifically one person stuck out more than anyone else.

The freckled, brunette woman with her petite, blonde, flag waving companion was one of a handful of other racers present. Something about her just stuck out in his brain and he had yet to understand it but the moment she stepped over to have a conversation with Levi he stopped to pay more attention. Judging by her posture it was clear she wasn't even the least bit worried about her place in the races. If anything, this woman seemed more than a bit overconfident often the way Levi strolled by with his shoulders back and his chin lifted a degree. Eren would have bet that at the end of the night the two would be racing against each other at some point and more than likely it'd be another close call.

Standing back to watch as everyone raced he almost would have missed it when Isabel grabbed a duffel bag from the back of the Z. Inside was probably more than Eren's debt rolled and banded in cash. Levi was carrying more money on him than he thought he'd ever seen in his life in person. While he did know that the money he was carrying was for his betting and his races he still couldn't help but wonder where he'd kept it all and if there was more of it. Racing was a big money expenditure and he wanted to know just how much he carried with him. Fortunately the moment Levi was up to race he got to figure out it was enough to lose 10 races.

Unfortunately when he discovered just how much money Levi had banded in his bag he also knew he'd been swindled. When he removed 10 grand from his bag and handed it to Gallinule he knew the deal he'd made earlier was completely washed. Levi knew he'd make more than that by winning one race. He'd been a complete idiot to make the bargain but at least it meant he'd get to have some fun and hopefully relieve some stress......it also might have meant he could pull one over on Levi for hustling him. Watching him race just concreted the idea even though he had to admit he was a bit excited, his heart was pumping harder, he was smiling, and it actually felt nice to see him win.

Levi always wore the world's brightest smile when he got out of the car after a win especially as he lit up a cigarette and inhaled the first drag. Upon the plume of smoke on his exhale he seemed calmer though. Even if he wanted to act on his first instinct of kissing him, he knew he couldn't so he just smiled and nodded. Jean and Isabel were racing when Levi wasn't, using their own cash, and it seemed for one enterprise they were all involved: everyone was family. It was interesting to watch how they interacted with one another but that wasn't part of what he was there for. He wanted a closer look at the races while he decided to see what Reiner was up to just to make sure he did his job. As far as he knew no one was clocking races that night so he slid closer to watch as tires squalled and cars burnt rubber as they shifted gears down the narrow air strip.  

Smoke and the smell of burning oil wafted from the asphalt clinging to his nostrils and turning his stomach. By the time he stepped back to Hanji, Is, and Jean, he'd needed the beer he grabbed. Drinking was at least helping his mind calm as he watched several more races. Levi had won around 11 for the night by the time he stopped. It was almost 3am and Eren was wondering if he'd even be able to go into the gym on time. The way it was looking he decided he might just have to call in and make something up about his aches and pains. Mikasa would believe him and would kick into overprotective mode making sure he didn't do so much as lift a finger. Overall it sounded like a good plan if he ended up staying up any longer.

Approaching them with an outstretched hand Gallinule congratulated Levi "Well, well, Mr. Ackerman it seems you have earned your next invitational. Be sure to stick around for the party inside the hangar I'd be honored to have you and your crew as my  _ personal _ guests."

"Thank you," Levi beamed "we'd be honored to attend." 

Jean slid up to Levi's side "Why, yes, we would."

"Mr. Kirschtein, if I were you," Gallinule lowered his mask to reveal a singular brown eye "I'd stick to painting and detailing rather than racing. You're tailormade for  _ background material. _ "

Amber eyes rolled back as Jean scoffed "Yeah, and Shakespeare and was better suited to be an  _ actor _ right?"

"Haha, the jury may still be deliberating on all that," he attempted to replay Jean's humor before turning his attention to Eren the man extended his covered arm "and I do believe a thank you is in order for you. I appreciate your close watch on our blue friends. Thank you." 

Eren shook his hand sternly and watched as the bandana fell revealing a hint of a tattoo " _ Oh.....my god... _ "

Quickly Gallinule tied the bandana back "Shhh, Eren," leaning into his ear the voice distorter was flipped of "see me inside the hangar once the party begins and we'll talk." There was only one man he knew with such a rich skin tone and an unmistakable, grotesque, tribal owl-like creature tattoo on the forearm. Marco was in fact a native of Florida and the fact of the matter was that he was from a small area on the skirts of the Everglades. The symbolism of the tattoo on his arm wasn't lost on him and neither was the cougar he caught on the brunette racer's arm. He'd about bet there was something else here. How his life had become so entangled he didn't know but he was going to find out.

Once  _ "Gallinule" _ shuffled off to greet others Levi shook him "Hey, you alright?"

"No....I'm not," Eren answered honestly "I'm  _ really  _ not."

"Then why don't you, uh, come with me," Levi whispered by his ear as he tugged at his sleeve before he addressed everyone "guys, I'll be back later. Enjoy the party, have a drink, relax, and I'll pay you tomorrow night. We have our next ticket and that means we're one step closer." Hanji, Isabel, and Jean patted him on the back and dispersed towards the airplane hangar where the party was going to begin while the crowd was moving away. It was clear that those leaving weren't being invited to the next so called round of the racing circuit. He had just been betrayed by someone he thought was one of his best friends and he wanted to know why but right now Levi was pulling him away and he knew why.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Twice a week? Sure. I don't think y'all wanna wait too long (about 6 months) if I keep the current progress. I've finished the story so I don't see why I need to make you guys wait that long to read it. Enjoy some surprise smutty bits.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Just because he knew  _ why _ Levi was opening the car door and driving off with him didn't mean that he didn't want to talk to Marco about what the hell was going on. It was, however, a welcome momentary distraction when Levi pulled the car off to a secluded side road and into what looked to be another old airplane hangar. The area was littered with abandoned buildings and places to sneak away so at least he was thankful for that much. By now Isabel and Hanji probably knew what was going on too but he didn't care much about that so long as no one from his side of the track discovered he was fooling around with his mechanic.

Once they parked inside the building Levi leaned over and shut off the engine "Hey, what's wrong? Earlier you actually looked like you were having fun for someone who hates this world and everyone in it and now you look sick."

Eren sighed and leaned against him "I don't hate  _ everyone _ apparently......I think...I think I know who Gallinule  _ really _ is."

"What?!" Levi stared incredulously back at Eren, eyes wide.

He shrugged his shoulders "Yeah....the tattoo on his forearm. See, Marco's of Seminole descent, like hella, and he's got the world’s  _ creepiest _ owl legend  tattooed on his forearm. I noticed it when the bandana fell and it's not something that can just be mistaken anywhere. A long time ago he told me it's called a Stikini.. some kind of Seminole owl monster. Marco is one of my best friends, Levi, and so it's kinda..... _ difficult _ to manage. He knows that I hate things like this so it's weird for both of us. I just need a moment to process."

Placing a hand on his cheek, Levi smiled "We've got all the moments in the world for you to process it and all the moments in the world to enjoy ourselves afterwards, _ hmm _ ?"

Eren rolled his eyes as he yanked Levi forward and kissed him "Do we? Because I don't know if we do, Levi, you _ hustled  _ me and we both know it. Was a gift from me  _ really  _ worth the idea of cheating me for it?"

Biting his lip Levi huffed "I didn't hustle you but the thought of us fooling around after the race  _ was  _ the extra push I needed to make sure I won more than 10 races tonight."

"Thought the idea was to keep your head out of the clouds?" Eren asked with an arched brow and smirk.

Levi pushed open the door and turned his head over his shoulder "Doesn't mean I didn't want my  _ hand  _ in them." Quickly pushing open the passenger side door Eren climbed out and took the moment to think of Levi's words. Had he  _ seriously  _ just said he wanted his hand in his pants? That was something he could clearly work with. Rounding the hood of the car he placed his hands on Levi's hips and kissed him feverishly. If they could both lock their mind in a cage for a few moments of carnal instinct then it could be useful for both of them. 

Humming against his throat Eren smirked "So, do you think I'm going to give you that gift now?"

"I'd hope you think I deserve it," Levi exhaled raggedly "or are you  _ mad  _ at me, hmm?"

Eren's teeth grazed against his neck "A little of column A, a little of column B. I don't like being  _ played, _ Levi. We're doing this for fun, and I get that, but I don't want you thinking that anything I do for you, you can take for granted. Stress relief, fun, mutual attraction, these things are the reason we play with each other. For hustling me, taking my lack of knowledge for granted, I think I may just have some fun with you instead. Maybe I'll work you up a little and head back to the party."

"Rude," Levi huffed backing up as he placed a hand to Eren's chest "I'll apologize for thinking I could make that easy bet and get away with it, but I  **won't** apologize for wanting to have you. We are doing this because we find each other attractive and like to have fun while also managing to sate some desire. If you want me to prove to you that I'm truly deserving of this gift I will."

"I find that hard to believe," Eren admitted as he tugged Levi back to him by the jacket "now stop talking and receive your  _ gift. _ " Levi arched a brow as he allowed the connection of their lips. Shoving him back against the hood of the Camaro Eren pushed his jacket from his shoulders and slipped his hands beneath his undershirt to toy with the barbells through his nipples, rolling them in his fingers. A low growl vibrated Levi's throat as Eren mouthed down his throat trapping him between the heat of his body and that of the car. Before anything else, Eren took to making sure he didn't leave any visible evidence of himself across Levi's snowy skin no matter how hard his desire to. It was only after he discarded Levi's undershirt that he took to marking down his skin in places no one would see daily.

Magenta and royal purple splotches mapped his skin as Eren moved down his body eventually dropping down to his knees. Fingertips brushing along his waistband Eren glanced up and gave Levi the most seductive, salacious smirk he could manage before placing a kiss just below his navel and popping the button of his pants with his teeth. Levi wrapped a hand in his hair as he leaned back against his hood while Eren ran his hands up his thighs and the heat of his breath danced over his stomach. Watching Levi bite at his lip in hopes of restraining the soft murmur and moans sounding in the back of his throat was more than a bit of an ego trip. He took a great deal of pride in watching him quake as he yanked his pants to his ankles leaving him in only the clingy red boxers brief he was already straining against.

Eren glanced up with another smirk and nuzzled his face against Levi's inner thigh discovering a rather interesting feature. With such sensitive thighs as he brushed his lips across them, just exhaled deeply, he could feel every tremble and enjoy each groan. As he slipped his fingers up Levi's thighs past the band of his boxers he felt Levi's fingers tighten almost painfully in his hair. He could only chuckle softly knowing that he'd had yet to see anything or more like  _ feel _ anything. Coiling his fingers around his cock firmly he gave a slow stroke and rose to his feet to place his free hand at the back of Levi's neck. Kissing him feverishly, instantly deepening their kiss, Eren swept his tongue past Levi's lips and continued to pump his hand around his length. 

Breaking their kiss as he panted for breath Levi moaned lowly " _ My god~~ Eren. _ "

Whispering against his ear as he nibbled at his earlobe Eren hummed "Mmm, do you want your gift now?" Taking his stuttered breath and barely coherent mumble as a yes, he kissed and nipped his way down Levi's body leaving only a light trail of evidence in his wake. His fingers curled around the prominent jut of his hips until they flipped the elastic band resting atop them. Quickly he yanked Levi's boxers down his thighs releasing his strained erection earning a pleasant, thankful, moan for his action. It was at that moment he was able to finally see something he'd felt yet hadn't seen. He'd finally located all the final missing piercings.

It'd be his first time blowing someone with a line of cock piercings but he was pretty sure that he could handle that. Sinking back to his knees Eren lapped his tongue around Levi's shaft before he placed his hand at the base and took what he was able into his mouth. Instantly Levi's hips bucked into the wet heat taking Eren momentarily by surprise before he settled into a decent rhythm. He learnt that Levi liked a little pain in his pleasure as his canine tooth caught on one of the piercings in his flesh and he released a loud, arduous moan leaning back against the car. Eren continued in his actions, twirling his tongue around him and hollowing his cheeks increasing the pleasure as he felt Levi beginning to unravel. Nothing was as powerful as hearing the stunted panting and start of his name tumbling from his lips.

Barely able to pant out his words Levi tried the best he could "E-Eren...I-I'm co--" Eren pushed him through his oncoming orgasm as it wracked his body, continuing to suck and swallow the tepid emission as it clung to his throat. He'd only hoped his gift was good enough even though he wasn't entirely sure that he deserved it. As he wiped his mouth and looked up Levi felt the will from his body to vacate and laid back against the hood of his car. His chest was heaving with the labor of breathing and Eren rose to his feet slowly raising Levi's boxers with him.

"Congratulations on your win," Eren sighed as he leaned against the hood, the metal heating his back.

Levi shifted and kissed his forehead "Thank you......you know if you give me a moment I can show you how much I  _ appreciate _ it."

He shook his head "Nah, that's okay. Next time. For now we'll just say you owe  _ me _ for a change."

"I'm  **not** a selfish man in the sack, Eren," Levi stated as he rolled onto his side "and I'd like to return the favor but my pants are also still around my ankles so there isn't much I can do for a few minutes."

Eren snickered "I'm telling you don't worry about it. If we're gone too long people will get suspicious."

"Oh, I don't care," he deadpanned "they'll find out anyway since Jean knows. He's a blabbermouth." 

Rolling his eyes, Eren sighed "Yeah, who didn't see that one coming? We better get back to the party though, be social for a bit, and I need to find out what the fuck is going on." Levi nodded and took his time regaining his composure along with his breath and chuckled softly before pulling up his pants and heading around the hood of the car to drive them back to the party. The short drive Eren was leaning his head against the window lost in thought. He was going to have to talk about this to Marco and earlier in the week when he'd said there was a lot of him that Eren didn't know he was starting to believe it. If he was so deep into this scene then what else was he doing? At least he passed the regular drug tests but what if it was something bigger. He felt like he didn't even know Marco anymore.

The very moment the car was parked Eren skirted Levi and stepped into the massive hangar that more like an underground rave than anything else. It suddenly made way more sense as to why Marco had dragged him to that nightclub in Miami now. DJ-ing a massive party for street racers and their crews was a far cry from everything he knew of so the moment Eren stepped through the door he crossed his arms over his chest and braced himself against a table. Marco had caught onto the drift and handed his headphones to someone else as he stepped down from the risen platform. Quickly he made his way through the throng of people and took Eren by the wrist leading him away from the crowd and around the back of the hangar.

Watching as Marco removed the mask from his face and shook his head, adjusting his hair, he had to give himself a moment. Soaking it in that his friend had lied to him for god only knew how long was enough to make him question everything. Were they even friends? Had this been something he'd been doing for years or something he just picked up? Eren had so many questions to ask but as he opened his mouth nothing sounded. Only a squeak of exhaled air sounded from his mouth so Marco sighed and nodded.

"It  _ never _ had anything to do with you," Marco started "I mean, the hiding it from you. I never told  _ anyone _ . My sister is Ymir, the racer of us both, and her girlfriend is actually her mechanic. She's pretty damn good for being such a little thing. Ymir took over for me when I decided I didn't wanna race anymore, I'm more of a people person so it's easier for me to schmooze people and gather them, and so I became a promoter a few years ago. It was all before I worked for you Eren. I'm sorry you had to find out like this, but I am  _ worried,  _ when you started to hang around Levi I didn't think you'd get caught up in all this."

"You mean being an idiot and risking hundreds of lives? Yeah I didn't either. I got blackmailed into it via a pistol between the eyes," Eren scowled not exactly keen on hearing Marco's excuses.

"Makes sense," Marco chuckled "dude's got a _ nasty  _ reputation in this circle. King of the Track, sure, but also a member of the _ big house. _ He doesn't play around, Eren. Rumor is he's  _ killed  _ 3 people."

Eren paused, mouth hanging open slightly "I-I'm sorry?  _ Killed people _ ?"

He nodded "Yeah, like, he's been to prison Eren. _ Twice.  _ He's not exactly someone I ever thought you'd actually go after either. I knew when you walked in with engine grease you'd been to see him."

"And you just knew that I was crushing on a murdering street racer and didn't think that was  _ pertinent _ ?" Eren questioned, unintentionally getting closer to Marco.

Marco stepped back "Eren, I  **swear** I never expected this to happen. Listen, I know you hate me for facilitating all this but I still see you as my best friend."

Placing a hand to his shoulder Eren smiled "I don't hate you, Marco, never could. Just....I don't know what to believe when you open your mouth. I don't know what parts are fake and what's the truth anymore. I feel like everything I know about you is a  _ lie _ ."

"It's not like that Eren, I promise, I just never mentioned anything about it out of respect for your parents. I knew you'd hate it and so I never said anything. I'm very cautious with my races, I have rules, no one has ever gotten hurt at one of my races Eren. I'm responsible with my job," Marco stated with a hint of pride in his voice.

Eren rolled his eyes before he arched a brow heavily curious "Well I'm glad you have a decent track record but what were you talking about with Levi?" 

Glancing around, Marco tugged Eren closer "The guy went to prison at 16 and again at 19. He's also been arrested for street racing."

"Prison though?! I know you said it a minute ago but it just… doesn't feel right," Eren answered incredulously.

"Yeah, it's no secret. Apparently the first one was manslaughter and the second was drug trafficking. I've talked to him enough as Gallinule to know he's not a  _ real  _ bad guy but he's got a volatile attitude if you cross him," Marco warned him. 

Taking a moment to absorb that Eren just snorted air through his nose slowly "Anything else I should know?"

Marco hummed in contemplation "Hmm....maybe that he keeps a pistol in his dash of the Camaro.  _ Loaded _ . One bullet in the chamber. Rumor has it those tally marks? He's got one more open."

"What tally marks?" Eren asked a bit befuddled, he'd seen Levi shirtless and pantless, he didn't remember seeing any tally marks.

"On the back of his neck," Marco answered with a chuckle "keep a look out sometime."

"No  _ fucking  _ way!" Came a shout from behind him, one he recognized all too clearly. Jean crossed his arms over his chest "Fucking Gallinule is  _ Marco. _ ....how interesting. What's up with that, huh? What's Gallinule mean anyway?"

"It's a type of bird, you dumbfuck," Marco grumbled "seriously.....no way in  _ hell _ is this a good thing."

Eren grinned "Aww come on Marco. Lighten up."

"Yeah bird boy," Jean smirked "or are those hoochie pants so tight they're up your ass?"

Marco narrowed his eyes as he stepped forward, shoving a pointed finger into his chest "I will not be poked fun of by a two-bit racer who grinds the gears into dirt when he shifts, has blown 3 engines, presses the nitrous too soon, and can't even win in his own car."

Eren placed a hand over his mouth " _ Oooohhh. Snap. _ "

Jean rolled amber eyes and smiled "I only race for fun, no real desire to, but what about you? If you know so much why don't you race?"

"Because I'm his racer," Marco's sister answered from his side "and he doesn't wanna risk injuring his GTR, AKA his baby. It's worth more to him than your life so he wouldn't run the risk on a racer like you, Jean."

"Ymir," Marco beamed as he kissed her cheek "this is Eren, he's a part of Levi's crew.....and my boss at the gym. Don'tcha love it when worlds collide? But you know if Two-Bit here wants to race he'll bring his own car and we'll settle it on the blacktop."

Jean straightened up and nodded "Alright, fine, Birdbrain. What do we race for?"

"What do you  _ want _ ?" Marco retorted quickly.

"Respect," Jean answered just as quickly "and maybe for you to be the teeniest bit nice to me."

Marco scoffed as he inched back into his realm of personal space "Hmph, you come to me as an egocentric asshole only wanting a way into my  _ "hoochie pants" _ and now you want my respect?  **No.** That'll be  _ earned  _ not won. Being nice to you is another matter although," as he leaned into his ear Marco's lips brushed his skin "I figured you'd want something more personal. You do find me  _ attractive  _ still, right?"

Clearing his throat Jean stiffened "Uh, yeah....more so....I don't..."

Eren tried to hold in his laughter as he watched Jean freeze and Marco respond smoothly "Well then meet me back here and we'll settle it. Bring a witness."

Once Eren released his laugh Jean turned fuchsia and blurbed to Eren "Well...shut up, Eren! At least I'm not banging Levi!"

He shrugged nonchalantly "We haven't fucked, I just blew him after he won."

Marco snickered "Haha, yeah,  _ okay. _ "

"No, I'm serious," Eren smirked impishly "go check his hips, I left some marks near his viper tattoo and scar,  or ask his three dick rings." As he sauntered off he left Marco wide eyed and mortified before turning over his shoulder "Oh and tell Mika I'm not coming in tomorrow.... _ Gallinule _ ." Marco was about to say something before he simply walked off to go acquire some beer that was coming from a keg or two. After he poured himself a cup he sat back and watched the party progress, overall he'd say it was a rather big event, not something he'd have even assumed taking place after races. Perhaps Marco's races were special, he truly didn't know and he couldn't say he wanted to know all the details even if it would make for something decent to use in his thesis. For now, he'd stand back, have some beer, and try to relax as he braced against the wall.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aha! Early update!! Technically it's already Sunday for me and I'm going to be rather busy so enjoy having it to read ahead of my normal lunch time update! Do enjoy the moments in the chapter!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

"You look uncomfortable," came Levi's voice from his side after an hour.

Eren shifted and shrugged his shoulders "Working on my fourth beer and I'm just a bit tired. Didn't get a lot of sleep last night and probably not going to get a lot tonight. I'm supposed to work at 7am but I don't think that's gonna happen."

At his uncomfortable chuckle Levi sat his bottle of water down and gestured towards the door "Wanna get outta here then? It's already almost 5am."

"Nah it's okay," he responded not wanting to spoil Levi's winning festivities "you should enjoy the party. You won after all."

Levi sighed and shrugged "I'm not much on celebrations really. I prefer smaller get togethers."

"So is it you that wants to leave?" Eren asked, feeling ahead of the curve.

"Perhaps a little bit," he smiled slightly "I don't really want to stay if you don't."

Deciding it would probably be for the best Eren inched closer and nodded, lowering his voice "Then take me home." Levi gave a low, cheesy bow and led the way out. While walking he pulled out his phone and presumably shot Isabel, Jean, or Hanji a message saying that he was leaving. Along the 45 minute drive Eren watched Levi carefully. It was late and they were both incredibly tired so the fact that Levi was yawning every few minutes causing his eyes to water, he knew he was far more tired than he himself was. He wanted to fall over and sleep against the door but he didn't want to drool on himself in front of Levi or get poked fun of for falling asleep so he decided to wait until the plushness of his bed could embrace him.

Once he pulled into the drive, with some help at recognizing it, Levi turned to him "Alright, you're home, so go in and get some rest. I'll text you if I need you."

Eren smiled and placed a gentle hand over his cheek "Or you could come in and have some coffee."

Levi arched a brow "Is there a  _ secondary  _ meaning to that coffee?"

" _ Yeah, _ " he rolled his eyes "like come inside and drink some coffee then steal my guest room and sleep until work."

"I will gladly accept the coffee but, as for the room, I have to be at work by noon," Levi replied with a hint of disdain.

"Well I told Marco that I'm not going in tomorrow," he smiled softly "so sleep as long as you want. I don't mind. Just c'mon." Levi nodded his head ever so slightly and removed from the keys from the car shoving them into his pants pocket upon his exit. Following behind him to the front door Eren quickly took his keys to unlock the door and flick on the light. Illuminating the area he gestured back to the hallway before the stairwell "Bathroom is on the left, second door, bedroom is the first. Make yourself at home and I'll put on a pot of coffee before I shower. Dark roast I take it?

"Sounds amazing," he beamed before kissing Eren delicately "thank you." Eren hummed to himself, content, and moved to do just as he'd said. Shuffling lazily into the kitchen he began to set a pot of coffee and had it dripping by the time he headed up the stairs. He stopped in at his bedroom to grab a set of clothing consisting only of boxers and pajama pants then made for the bathroom. The shower melted away the stress and eased the tugging tension of his muscles managing to somehow induce another wave of mass drowsiness. By the time he'd stepped out, releasing the dense steam into the hall, he was ready to fall over. Only one thing stopped him from rushing immediately to bed: Levi.

Braced against the wall, arms over his chest, Levi seemed to be lying in wait for him. With a salacious smirk creasing his lips he could only sigh and arch a brow before that smirk was on his skin. Pressing his lips at the connection of his jaw and throat Levi gave a low hum and circled his arms around Eren's hips tugging him flush to his chest giving no care for his damp, water beaded skin. Mouthing heavily, no doubt darkening his skin, Levi turned to shove his back against the wall as a hand roamed up his chest. Eren gave into the pull of his actions already feeling a bubbling heat in the pit of his stomach as Levi skin rushed over his own, feeling the rough sections of his hands denoting his manual labor skill set. A mechanic could tweak the tiniest parts of an engine with his hands but.......what _ else  _ could he do with them? 

Levi whispered against his ear "Selfish lover  **isn't** in my description, Eren."

Whimpering, Eren fought the onslaught "I remember, but it's almost 6am, Levi."

"So, maybe getting off will relax you and you'll sleep deeper," he offered, continuing to set the blood in Eren's veins aflame. Silently, Levi slipped his fingers into his waistband dragging him forward until he complied with joining him. Heading down the stairs with Levi's grasp on his wrist he knew that it wasn't a good idea to keep Levi up any longer but he was dead set on this and Eren was already more than excited for what he had in mind. Just as they stepped through the door he was more than taken back as Levi once again displayed more strength than he assumed he had as he shoved Eren against the wall. He felt the air flee his lungs and Levi's lips were on his taking what little breath he had left. Already it was proving to be an intriguing experience. 

While their frenzied kiss continued Eren snuck a hand beneath Levi's shirt having his fingers curl around his hips. Taking that as a plea to remove his shirt Levi did as he figured Eren asked, breaking away from their kiss to pull his shirt over his head and toss it across the bedroom not caring where it landed. His only care was to what Eren was still wearing but Eren seemed to have other ideas. If they were doing this before bed he may as well help Levi get ready for bed and if he got to strip him down for the second time then that was just a bonus. He stared for a minute before dipping his fingers down from his bare stomach to the button of his pants, unfastening it with ease, pulling the zipper down before Levi shook his hips to shimmy out of them.

After Levi stepped out of them it was Eren's turn to lose his pants. Quickly Levi dropped to his knees and yanked down the sweats with ease. Eren's breath hitched the moment Levi left a little nibble at his thigh before running his palms up them and back to his hips to pull him against his body. Leading Eren back to the bed as he walked backwards, Levi smiled momentarily before switching their positions and shoving him to the bed. Staring up wide eyed Eren watched as Levi crawled onto the bed and over him. As Levi loomed over him the only thing he could do was reach up and delicately place a hand at his jaw and smile. 

Placing his hand atop Eren's he moved it around to place a kiss at his palm before releasing it and claiming his lips. Deliberately and passionately Levi bent to just allow Eren a taste of the desire he was holding onto. The short lived connection had Eren's brain fogged as Levi's hands soared over his skin. Down his stomach and across his hips to the elastic resting atop his skin, he knew that Levi was itching to get beneath the fabric. Breaking the kiss he began to mouth at his throat and down to his collarbone to begin his ministrations. His mouth left sizzling trails of nips across his neck, down to his chest where his lips were focused on teasing his nipple. His tongue rolled over the rising flesh, drawing circles around it, pulling the skin between his teeth while his fingers lightly danced over the other. Eren's breath caught in his throat as Levi bit down hard on the sensitive, risen flesh. In response Eren slid his hand up the back of Levi's neck, running it through his hair wrapping the strands around his fingers. 

Tearing his mouth away from his chest, Levi moved away to just drink in the erotic sight of Eren below him, eyes closed, panting. After a second he leaned down placing a gentle kiss on Eren's lips, which he appreciated since he put his arm around Levi's lower back pulling him down to lay directly on top of him, knotting his fingers in his hair, pulling ever so slightly on the satiny strands. Eren ran his tongue over Levi's lip gladly taking the opening he left as he parted his lips. As Levi's hot tongue whirled around his, he rolled his hips up into Levi's. Tilting his jaw, allowing a better angle for the kiss, Levi's rocked his hips a bit faster, with a harder force, since Eren seemed to be seeking the friction in an almost desperate manner. Waiting for Eren to gasp for air he could tell each roll was taking his breath and his resolve little by little.

On the next roll, Eren raked his fingernails against Levi's fair skin, leaving light red welts against his shoulder, earning a deep growl from deep in Levi's throat. Upon pulling back Eren whimpered and looked up to Levi, panting and wiggling beneath him more than ready for whatever it was he had planned. From above him Levi's eyes brightened for a moment  and he gave a wide smirk before taking his lips again, resting a hand at his jaw while the other slithered down his stomach, sliding his fingers behind the navy blue waistband of his boxers popping it lightly against his skin. After testing the waters Levi slipped his hand past the waistband of the boxers securing a hand around Eren’s cock.

Giving an experimental stroke, Levi felt the breath leave Eren’s lungs as he repeated the motion, increasing his speed steadily. Eren pulled back from the kiss, leaning his head back into the pillows releasing a whine and soft moan while Levi moved down his body, placing a few kisses leading to his navel before leaving his hands at his hips, pulling down the thin material, and stripping the boxers completely off. There was a soft, thankful groan as his erection was freed from the tight material. Smirking to himself at the sight, Levi pushed his hands between Eren's knees, forcing them apart as he bent down to leave a large, royal purple mark against his skin. Leaving evidence of himself over Eren's skin was his way of showing his possessiveness even if Eren was the only one who could see it. Marking Eren meant he was his. 

Levi ran his tongue up his inner thigh as his fingertips barely grazed his skin on the other, leaving cold chills to raise on his skin, before he twisted his tongue around his shaft. Eren's toes curled as Levi's tongue set to work reducing him to whimpers, skillfully flicking, and swirling against his flesh. A hand ran through Levi's hair, as his head began to rise and fall, submitting Eren to the warm, wet feeling of taking all of him in his mouth at varied increments.

" _ Haah~ Fuck...Levi~~ _ " Eren's strained voice reached Levi's ears, only spurring him on to go harder. 

Levi hollowed his cheeks around him, increasing the pressure as he bobbed up and down, running the flat of his bedazzled tongue along the sensitive, underside of his cock as he went, occasionally drawing circles around the head or flicking his tongue against the slit. Fingers knotted in his hair as he felt the tug and scrape of fingernails against his scalp, but continued on. Reducing Eren to a complete mess beneath him, writhing in pleasure and moaning his name, was everything he wanted in that moment. When he managed to rasp out the warning of his rapidly approaching climax Levi continued and simply swallowed the emission and looked up with a deviously sly smirk. He darted his tongue over his lip to catch what had dribbled down and cleared his throat as he sat up.

Eren's ragged breathing only settled after a few moments though his mind took much longer to clear. He'd wanted to know what he could do with his hands, and he got it, but knowing what he could do with his mouth and that tongue ring was so much more. Laying there trying to regain his ability to process information Eren rolled onto his side as Levi laid only clad in his boxers and smiled back at him. Wanting to stay there and bask in the afterglow would have been optimal but unfortunately he didn't have that kind of luxury. He wanted Levi to get as much sleep as possible and there was a couple things he had to get done before bed.

"Wow...." he huffed as he kissed Levi softly, still catching a slight bitter taste off his lips "you're  _ fantastic _ ."

"I know," Levi beamed before kissing Eren's forehead "now you should get some sleep."

"Yeah....I should. If you leave before I'm up in the morning just lock the door and pull it behind you," he instructed as he rolled out of bed locating his discarded clothing. 

As he slipped on only his pajama pants Levi nodded "Alright. Goodnight, Eren."

Stepping over to the bedside he gave Levi a polite peck and smiled "G'night, Levi. Sweet dreams." With that he shuffled out of the room as quickly as he could. He hated that he wanted to stay there, that he wanted to enjoy the blissful moments with that mind numbing smile and those hauntingly beautiful eyes staring back at him with that glimmer of desire in his eyes. Never had he just wanted to be in someone's presence as much as he wanted to be with Levi. Just something about how his gaze lingered delicately over him as he watched him, like he'd disappear if he were to blink. Perhaps that was due to the prison bits that he still wanted to know more of. It was only natural to be so curious so while he laid in bed he let his mind run until the thoughts stopped.

The next day he awoke by some time late mid-afternoon. It was the first time in a long time that he'd actually take the time to catch up on his sleep and thus his mind seemed to have taken the inch he had and taken a mile, running off like a lunatic frolicking in a field of daisies. It was a little after 2 pm when he rolled over to check his phone and realize he had a flood of text messages. Apparently not coming into work had sent up a red flag to everyone he worked with. From messages asking if he was alright to some that were all out red threat level worried, he had a slew to respond to. Deciding that could be best be done by multitasking he carried his phone off into the bathroom and proceeded with his morning routine.

By the time he got to the end of them there were two that stuck out. One was from Levi and the other was from, surprisingly enough, Marco.

**_From: Levi_ **

Hey, thanks for last night, Eren. Enjoy the day off

**_From: Marco_ **

About last night....I hope everythings alright with us

Later he'd be sure to text Marco about something far different than that as for Levi's he simply ignored it for a bit since he was at work. The only thing he could do for a bit to entertain himself, and maintain some semblance of productivity for the day, was write some of his thesis. Now he was able to write about the exclusive raves they held after races in which winners were privy to the venue of the next race before it was released to anyone else. There was only enough to keep him occupied for about an hour or two before his mind drifted once again back to Levi.

Deciding to sate his curiosity he grabbed his wallet from the table and decided to use his business account to run something. Since he'd hired people for the gym it was only standard procedure to run background checks on his applicants and as such he of course had a service that provided them. Logging into his accounted he had it run his card and charge him for running a one Levi Ackerman, 30 years old, originally from Los Angeles, California. What he received after a few moments was enough to make him stop in his tracks. For the next several hours he dug farther in to Levi and even went as far as to Google his name where other accusations against him were pulled up.

At 16 years old Levi had been charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of the passenger inside his car at the time of the accident, a girl named Petra Ral. Pulling up the photos Eren felt his stomach churn. The car was a burnt, mangled pile of bits and pieces. He knew exactly what it was like to be in something like that. Why he'd been charged for that he did come to find out. The district attorney was new, making a name for himself, and he was out to prosecute everyone for everything in his way of street cleaning. They'd said reckless driving had been the root cause of the incident so he dug into it farther. From first hand accounts they'd said the car had flipped before heading over the median heading into oncoming traffic.

Eren felt sick as he continued looking into it but there was more than his simple 2 year prison term. He'd been sentenced as an adult and received the lightest sentence California could hand down of 3 years, however, for being a rather model prisoner he got out in 2. The next term was only a year after he'd gotten out which meant the DA had a field day trying him again. Although it was clear whatever he'd gotten into in that 14 months out had been more than dangerous. He'd been arrested for drug trafficking carrying a rather hefty amount of uncut cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. He'd received a sentence of 4 years for that but had another year tacked on while inside after assaulting a fellow inmate with a pipe in the prison mechanic shop.

Whatever Levi had gotten himself into there clearly wasn't following him outside now......at least he expected. The only other charge on his record was his bust for illegal racing 5 years ago, for which he spent 7 months in county jail, and he seemed rather decent on everything else. Only the online searches revealed more. Marco had been right about what he'd talked about though Levi's name was only mentioned as he was a suspect in the murder of 3 people across Los Angeles. It wasn't exactly looking good for him at the moment but when he was with Levi he didn't get that aura like he had the first time he'd misstepped and wound up with a gun pointed at him. Street racing was the only part that seemed like Levi.

All of this was beginning to make his head swim and there was one person that seemed to know a good bit of it. Texting Marco back and asking if he could come over, was a simple way of getting the lowdown on the rest of the information. Plus while he was there he could get anymore information on the races he needed and he could get anything else he needed from him. Marco seemed to be alright with idea and was over a half an hour later giving him some time to try to process it all. When he arrived he threw on some sweats and beckoned him inside rather quickly.

"Hey," he said with a soft smile as he sat at his side "so what's up?"

Eren sighed and folded his hands in his lap "I need to know what you know about Levi's convictions. What's the story?"

Marco nodded and began "If you start at the beginning he was arrested for manslaughter, rumor has it he was into some shit he shouldn't have been and they tried to take him out. No one but him really knows and some of his crew. Eren, crews in this world are sacred it's like having another family. You don't breach that trust or bad things are bound to happen especially with the bigger, badder guys. Levi.....his past is foggy to say the  _ least _ . He was implicated in the murder, I should say  _ disappearance,  _ of some guys from a big time gang out in L.A. Nothing could ever be pinned on him but those marks on the back of his neck didn't show up until  _ after _ those guys disappeared and there's three filled in but an outline for one."

"So you think he did it?" Eren asked, feeling the need to gain Marco's opinion.

"Honestly," Marco started " _ yeah, _ I do. I told you. Family. Levi is an orphan just like you and his crew is his  _ family _ . The girl that got killed was in his crew and those guys were part of that gang that people assumed he was in with when he got popped. Afterwards there's a lull in information about him even with  _ my _ contacts. I don't know what happened until he got here in Florida. I'd stake money on it that he killed those guys if they did have something to do with his girl's death."

Eren inhaled deeply and nodded "Well thanks for being honest. Now, Marco, I love you but what the  _ hell _ was up with that _ outfit?!" _

Marco laughed as he leaned back into the sofa "Ahahaha! Gallinule is a type of duck, I used the purple gallinule as my moniker because I always saw them in the swamp growing up. They were so vivid and bright....and loud. I always chased them but only because I wanted one as a pet. My dad wouldn't let me haha. So, when I saw that mask one day and decided I was going to promote, and not race, it reminded me of them. Thus the moniker was born and vibrant colors and patterns are my style when I have to promote and DJ."

"You're fucking  _ crazy, _ " Eren grinned as he got up and returned with two beers "so what exactly does a promoter  _ do _ ?"

Clinking the long neck to Eren's Marco smiled "Not a whole lot. I get anonymous messages for when people want to set up races. It's basically like a waterfall system and it starts with promoters. We all know each other and we all know the racers. If my benefactor has any requirements then I meet them and relay them to drivers. It's my job to locate the venue and put out word to my contacts that there's a race at the venue. They'll spread it and it'll reach the entirety of the community by the time the race is a day away. Then I'll the send the time about 2 hours before it starts and I'll have everyone there. I also make a proceeds from each race and normally benefactors request a fee as well which I return to them unless it's a race for something bigger like last night."

Remembering there was something about that series Eren quirked a brow "This guy has come up with others right? Do you know the end game? And what's with that 10 grand minimum?!"

"Part of my requirement was the buy in had to be 10 grand. I didn't make that rule. The guy has called for a couple set ups, around 10 including last night. There aren't going to be many more maybe 7 I think from him. I make about 4 grand from each race of his so I'm not complaining. Don't get me wrong I love being a personal trainer but it's not always a steady thing. People will be racing as long as there are people who find venues and people who have cars," Marco chuckled between sips of his beer.

Eren rolled his eyes "We both know Hard Rock Hotel and Casino is just a little ways across the city from the gym."

It was Marco's turn to roll his eyes "Is that an Indian joke? Yeah stick the Seminole in the casino. Fucking  _ rude. _ "

" _ Really?  _ Haha, Marco, you worked there when you were 21 come down off your high alligator there Osceola," Eren grinned with a jest.

" _ Racist asshole, _ " Marco murmured before laughing boisterously "I love you, dude."

"I know," Eren snickered.

Marco sat his empty bottle on the table "But I'll have you know that's the only way I got through college. Are you seriously sleeping with Levi though? Cause selling your soul to  _ Satan _ doesn't come cheap."

Eren shrugged "I haven't slept with him, Marco, but we _ are  _ fooling around when we want. He's fixing my car basically for free and I get paid some cash that helps cover the 17 grand left in my tuition."

"Well I guess there's that," Marco sighed "just be careful alright? Casual sex with your racer and mechanic isn't exactly a _ great _ idea but it's what makes you happy. I don't want this dude breaking ya."

"It'll be alright," Eren smiled "who knows about your identity?"

"Just my sister and some friends from the races," Marco replied as he glanced down at his watch "but I got a client in about an hour so I gotta be headed back. Thanks for everything. If ya need me just call."

"You got it man." Eren rose to his feet and escorted him to the door "Just, uh, if Mika asks I'm hella sore and have a throbbing headache." 

Marco gave him a nod and wide smile before heading back to the gym "Sure thing. Remember my event is Friday! I'll get you the venue once I find it haha. Have a good day Eren." With a wave he shut the door and returned to the living room where he discarded their bottles. He cleaned up a little bit before he began to cook and spent most of the day relaxing with a movie or two and a few more paragraphs on his thesis. After a few hours of enjoying himself and trying not to think about everything he'd seen about Levi he received a call from the man himself. Just his luck.

Answering it, Eren held the phone up "Hello?"

"Hey Eren," came Levi's voice over the phone "just letting you know I'll be bringing your money by tomorrow so actually be at the gym, yeah?"

"Yeah," Eren smiled as if he could see it "and I got some information for you. Race is Friday night...or so I hear from the bird's beak."

There was a soft laugh "Haha, look at you coming in handy. Alright, thanks for the heads up, now can you stop by the shop Thursday. Books."

"Sure," he answered "as long as someone is there to help me a bit I can manage that."

"Can you manage  _ something else _ ?"

"Like what exactly?"

"I have a _ thing _ that needs to be handled Monday."

"That's not  _ cryptic  _ or anything. Just stop by my office and we'll talk about whatever it is." 

Levi sighed "Yeah....I'll stop by your office and we'll  _ talk _ about it. I'll see you tomorrow, Eren, goodnight."

At the exasperated sigh and snicker with his words Eren just replied "Uh, yeah,  _ sure. _ Goodnight, Levi." He hung up and sat there for a moment wondering what exactly he could have that needed handling by him specifically. It took him more than it should have to construe the hidden meaning in Levi's worlds. The moment it finally connected it he furrowed his brow, pouting a bit he'd not understood the first go around, and typed out a text to Levi.

**_To: Levi_ **

We are not doing that in my office

**_From: Levi_ **

Haha, took you long enough. If you dont wanna use yours we can use mine

**_To: Levi_ **

You have an office?

**_From: Levi_ **

Of course, I'm head mechanic.

**_To: Levi_ **

Well then we'll see if you do anything worth that Thursday

**_From: Levi_ **

Sounds great to me, I'll dream of it fondly

**_To: Levi_ **

Yeah whatever, goodnight....ass


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back my dears! Today's chapter will begin a little peak into life and for a couple of chapters ahead things will begin to get.......real. I certainly hope you'll enjoy! Now, prepare for the beginning!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

At the gym Eren had greeted both Levi and Jean when they entered, giving a little sparkling smile before walking back to his office. He'd been in his office scanning through various reports of equipment for an hour or so when he let his mind skip back to his and Levi's messages from the night before. If Levi had an office it meant he had to have a personal computer in there but would he keep anything personal on it? The chance to snoop around his computer was one that was rather high but the consequences could be dire if he was caught. Curiosity may just kill the cat if he got tempted to search and wound up being caught. Levi was a criminal, a felon, and there was no doubt that he could get a violent temper. Isabel had said it herself that " _ he has a hell of a bark but his bite is still stronger. _ "

While he wanted to know he supposed that deep down he didn't. If Levi had killed 3 people and had a 4th on his list, what then? It's not like he'd be fumbling all over himself to tell the nearest authorities. Murder just didn't seem like Levi's game....but he didn't truly know Levi, did he? Perhaps that was the problem in all this. He still had no idea who Levi truly was. Getting him out of his comfort zone and forcing him into something else would be the only way for him to see what lied beneath it all and he wanted to know. He wanted to know everything about him because as much as he hated it all what he hated most was he was beginning to make friends, feel a place he kinda fit in, and above it all he was starting to like Levi.

Sure, he might not have known all of him but the parts he'd seen when they were alone were magnificent and he wasn't just thinking about his body. Levi was smart. He was a man of unmatched skill and that was clear but mostly he was fun. Being with Levi gave him a rush, like he was doing something wrong, but he liked that feeling. When he was with Levi he laughed and smiled more than he had in a long time. The man was a mystery; a beautiful enigma with a prickly outer coating while at its center lied a sour, gooey, taffy center that was probably a little sweet after the initial bitter bite. Eren just wanted to know if the prize was his to have. To have him meant to understand him, to know everything about him, to know how he thinks and acts, but he barely had any of that.

Having next to nothing of what he needed simply meant he'd have to fight for it. Tooth and claw he'd discover everything he could because even if he hated to let himself think on it he did want all of Levi. Racer or no......murderer.....that one would depend on circumstances but he was willing to accept a lot of things so long as he got Levi in the end of it all. It was only going to be a matter of time before he could ask Levi about it himself. He'd wait until he had that and until that moment he'd do more digging himself and see what he could find. 

Detective work was best saved for later though. He had real work to do which meant bleeding from his eye sockets as he stared at income taxes and the potential price estimates of replacing equipment again. Everything seemed to be blending together the longer he stared but even when he voiced a welcome to the knocking at his door he still held up a finger as he finished up a calculation. 

"I  _ know  _ you aren't making me wait," Levi spoke slyly as he stepped over to Eren's desk.

Taking off his glasses as he looked up to Levi he shrugged "You're in my place of business interrupting _ my _ work. I can make you wait." Levi rolled his eyes and removed a sheet of paper from his wallet sitting it in front of Eren. At first Eren looked up to Levi to wait for an explanation but he perched on the edge of the desk and tapped his forefinger against it. Confused, Eren looked down at the printing on it to notice it was Levi's bank receipt. The amount of money in the account was more than enough to have a decent life.....for almost an entire life....he overestimated but not by much. 

"Saw the way you stared at the bag the other night," Levi explained "this is my race fund. It's winnings from a few years of racing. Everything from parts to payroll come out of it every week. Racing is building it, breaking it, fixing it, and racing it and repeating the process. It requires a lot of things."

Eren's mouth popped open as he shook his head "That's..."

"A lot of money?" Levi interrupted as he stood, voice darkening "Yes, but it means absolutely jack  _ shit _ to me.. I'm not stupid Eren. Next time you investigate someone's secrets you better make sure none of their crew members are around while you fucking do it. I've got reasons for what I do and what I've done.  _ My own. _ "

"Levi--"

He snarled and placed a wad of bills on the desk "Your cut from the other night.  **Don't** expect it again. You're out of the next races but as far as I'm concerned you do still work for me. The books require your attention Thursday. Be there and keep an eye on your phone because no matter what, Eren, if something happens at the races your car won't be _ any _ closer to getting fixed." There was no responding to him before he stormed out, slamming the door behind him to the point of rattling the entire office. Whatever he'd done was clearly not going to be fixed that day. He remembered him saying he was digging into his secrets. How would he have known about that, only Marco knew about that, but it didn't sound like he'd been angry. Levi's features hadn't hardened they'd fallen. He was upset, disappointed, or betrayed not furious or angry.

It wasn't like he and Marco had said anything bad about everything and it wasn't like he'd asked for it all then. Only one good thing came out of watching him storm out. He'd finally gotten a smidge of a glance at the black ink on the back of his neck, just at his nape. He hadn't gotten to see it for long, it had really just been a blur, but it proved Marco had been right. What else was he right about? All Eren knew was that he had to apologize although it was probably best left until Thursday, to give him his space to calm down just a smidgen. 

Walking out to get some air he bumped into Jean who just narrowed his eyes "Dude. He's fucking pissed as  _ hell _ . You know that?"

Eren sighed "I saw. You told him I tried to unearth his dirt? You're the only person I have a suspicion of after how you just  _ appeared  _ the other night."

"Told him that Marco was talking to you about his blues bids," Jean answered honestly "and I'll tell you right now, if you wanted to know about his time in prison he  _ migh _ t have told you, but now he probably thinks you're gonna look down on him."

"Oh fuck," Eren smacked his forehead and groaned "so he thinks....dammit. Jean you shoulda kept your fucking blabbermouth  _ shut _ . I didn't ask about them explicitly Marco told me about them first, said he had a bad rep, and was looking out for me."

Jean's lip curled as he inched closer, features sharpening "Listen here, Eren, don't get it twisted. I like you just fine but Levi is like my  _ family _ and I owe him my life. You mean  **nothing** to me in comparison. I suggest you fix this if you want the crew to run smoothly."

Swallowing Eren nodded and straightened up "I'm gonna try but he's not gonna trust me."

"You're damn right he's  **not,** " Jean started "not until you give him a reason to. Make him air all his dirty laundry and you air every ounce of yours so you'll be even, or don't make him say jack shit and you still air yours to make him feel better about it, make him feel like you stand on even ground. Boss doesn't just let  _ anyone  _ in Eren, in fact the fact you got so close to him so quickly was suspicious. Fuck toys or serious relationships....even friends....Levi doesn't have many of them. He doesn't  _ trust _ people and he has his reasons  **not** to. You went behind his back to dig up all his shit. You invaded his privacy without warning." Jean turned to walk off before turning his head over his shoulder "At least when he had you looked into, Eren, he had the  _ decency  _ to tell you about it to your  _ face _ ." That stung. His words dug into his chest, twisting and slicing away at him with perfect precision. It had hurt that Jean was right. Levi told him that he was going to be looking into him, digging into his past, learning his secrets and he'd okayed it knowing it would happen one way or another.

Here he was having broken a barrier then taking six steps back and perma-sealing the first barrier. Everything just seemed like it was regressing and there was nothing he could do about it. Spending the rest of the day in contemplation as to how he was going to make it up to Levi Eren focused on nothing else. Only thoughts of Levi and his failing ability to concoct a decent apology ran through his head. For hours he had not even the slightest clue of what to do but he'd hoped it'd get better by the end of the day or even in a couple of days.

Quite unfortunately he'd only managed to hope wrong. The only ideas he had come up with by Thursday were only pathetic attempts of physical contact. Having Levi feel as though he'd betrayed him so deeply kept him busy....kept him from sleeping even eating unless someone reminded him to do so. Mika and Armin had noticed his spacey moments and figured he'd had been working too hard, even went as far as to make him take another day off. On his mandatory break he'd still not managed to come up with anything and it wasn't like he could take Jean's advice. Levi knew basically everything there was to know about him. There was no even ground to attempt to stand on so he simply would only do what he could.

When he'd received his text from Levi to head to the garage he felt the knot of dread in his gut double it's already massive state. He didn't want to have to face this but he knew he had to get it over with. The walk there was more than wrenching agony, he kept thinking that Levi was going to scream at him or do something that was going to make him shrink back. He honestly didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that it wasn't just going to go away without Eren making it up to him. He walked into the garage he was prepared to make his apology until he noticed what Levi was doing. 

Propped up on a workbench, who he noticed to be Eld's, Levi was sitting with a pistol in his lap and clear sheeting across the floor. Paint was splattered across the plastic over but he still froze. Stopping immediately in his tracks with his eyes widening marginally Eren could only watch as Levi sighed and placed it atop the bench before jumping down.

"Relax," he stated flatly "I was just cleaning it. You really think I'd kill the guy who cooks my books better than Farlan? I don't think so. Now, ready to work? 'Cause I got my own shit to do after this."

Eren shook his head "Not yet."

Arching a brow, Levi stepped up to him " _ Oh? _ "

"I'm sorry," he spewed "that I didn't tell you about it but I didn't explicitly ask about your past. You don't exactly have it straight."

Clenching his jaw, Levi snarled "Oh I don't?  _ Really? _ So you mean to tell me you  _ weren't _ digging around for any information on me at all? Nothing that you could use for your little thesis? Yeah, Eren, I know all about it. I don't personally care what you want to write about so long as our names aren't in it. No one would believe it more than fiction anyhow and if you write more in depth than what's researched you may attract the wrong kind of attention. I told you that I had you looked into and I did. I know everything from your current GPA, your weight, even the day you lost your virginity in the car I'm repairing. Yet, despite all this and my courtesy of telling you, you couldn't even give me enough  _ respect  _ to say the same."

Eren flailed, words leaving his lips before he was able to stop it "I didn't exactly mean to, you fucking  _ asshole _ ! Marco was looking out for me was all, explaining why you apparently have such a bad reputation including your stints in prison. As for my thesis, that's **none** of your business, Levi. It's something for my graduation and not something you need to concern yourself with."

"Oh but it is," Levi responded harshly "it's the only thing keeping you here along with my thumb hold on your life. Let me tell you something, Eren, you think I'm an asshole? You don't know the _ half _ of it. Do you know what prison does to a 16 year old kid tried as an adult for something he couldn't control? Hardens him. His head, his heart, his  _ soul _ . Prison doesn't rehabilitate it allows you to stew, it makes,  _ breeds _ , criminals. It lights a survival instinct inside you that I hope you  **never** have to understand. Don't you even think for a _ second  _ that coming at me with this bullshit will change **anything!** "

"I'm not!" He screeched, voice cracking "I'm  _ trying  _ to apologize to you and I know as much as some searches on the internet can tell me along with rumors float around. What I don't know is who Petra Ral is."

Eyes flaring, Levi walked forward and shoved a finger into his chest "First and  **only** warning, Eren. Don't you  **ever** let her name leave your lips again."

" _ See?! _ You won't talk about it even if I ask so I'm sorry Levi for gaining information that was  _ given  _ to me. Now," Eren huffed and tried to calm himself "your office and my help?"

"Whatever, Eren," Levi sneered as he walked off before turning back to Eren "come on, I have to get back to working on the cars after this."

Feeling his throat constrict Eren raised a brow " _ You're _ my book help?"

Gesturing to the empty garage Levi nodded "You see anyone  _ else _ lining up for the job?" Eren sighed and tried to steel his nerves as he shook his head and followed Levi. After their argument did he really think it was a good idea to be locked in a presumably small space together? Eren sure didn't. He didn't know why he'd antagonized him and even lied to him about what he knew... it just kinda happened. There was no restraining the word vomit that flew from his mouth during the bickering. For now all he knew was that working alongside Levi was going to be hell, and this was why one was often familiar with the phrase " _ don't shit where you eat _ ."

Once they turned down a narrow stretch of hallway they turned almost immediately into the first door on the right. Inside it was cramped and consisted of two stools and a rather neat working station. Binders were lined along the back by customer names and order books were stacked neatly alongside them. Purell and rags were nestled against the computer where Levi took a seat leaving Eren to the one with the most desk space. Levi grabbed the dense book and plopped it down in front of him and watched carefully as he sprawled everything out putting what originally went with what order. Organizing it by car was easiest and then the numbers could be figured out later. 

Making the parts more of a matching game made it child’s play when the remaining parts had to be matched under something else. As Levi pulled up places the other parts could fit it was simple to put them on the reports and reprint receipts. Levi would drag up exactly what part he used in the cars and with his expertise in what fit where Eren was able to make a pretty quick job of one month of the books even if it was too long to be in Levi's vicinity. They made for a great team and he hated that their relationship was strained even if it was casual. He didn't want it to end that way but was there even a way to fix it?

Levi reached over to grab a paper, his fingertips grazing Eren's fingers before he jerked back and cleared his throat "I...uh, I should go. Take your time, Eren, if there's something that you need mark it for later. Or I don't know, Google it, you seem to be pretty proficient at that." Before Eren could say anything at all to get him to stay he was off the stool and out the door shuffling off rather quietly to the garage. When he heard the loud slam of the heavy metal garage door he knew Levi would start to work on the cars again. Now he was alone in the suffocating office with the trace scent of Levi on each inhale of air he took. 

He knew he shouldn't. It wasn't right but he'd already gotten in trouble for a smile breach of his privacy and the computer screen was still on. Maybe it was a test and there was a camera somewhere but he had to know. The pull was too strong to ignore so he jumped over to the other stool and scanned the screen. Finding his internet browser he pulled up history only to find it wiped. He knew better than to think Levi left crumbs around but if he cleared his history he might not have cleared his search history since it saved to his account and if he searched anything on his phone it synced to his computer. Typing in random letters in conjunction he finally got a hit when Google finished the suggestion for him.

Levi was good but not always that good. The name Erwin Smith and Canada came up often in his searches when he arrived at Google's search bar. It seemed like the man's name was a subject of a lot of things, that and some kind of pipeline in Texas along with the Canadian border in Washington. What exactly was Levi looking into? Whatever it was seemed to have been an obsession. It was everywhere and then he caught an article that said Levi had visited it several times. Clicking on the link he brought up an article of Levi's second arrest. In the photo of him being arrested there was a man in the back he didn't recognize. All of it was too heavy to dive into now so he cleared the history again for the specific sites he'd visited and jumped back to the books.

Eren's intuition seemed to have been more than a bit on par. Footsteps soon echoed down the stretch of hallway and so Eren got up from his stool and began to rearrange everything the way he'd need it for when he returned. Levi stepped through the door and crossed his arms over his chest while Eren finished up and flipped the thick book shut.

As Eren stepped out of the door he stopped and spoke without turning "If you need me Levi text me but if, and when, you get off your fucking  _ period _ call me and I'll be here for  _ whatever  _ you need even if it's just to talk." Leaving before he could respond Eren walked out of the office and made his way back to the gym. The walk back had been filled with " _ what if's?" _ a mile long. He didn't want to fight with Levi over this and he just wanted it to settle but he knew he couldn't force this on him. Options were slim and the only one that made any sense was to wait for Levi to come to him since he'd tried to apologize and made it worse. It was Levi who had to step up now in his eyes. He'd only hoped that it wouldn't be too long before Levi would take him up on the offer to talk. 

There would be a race tomorrow down at an old drag strip Marco had found and he knew he could probably go watch it but there was the risk of being seen. Levi had told him not to come and just do the books when he was told so that was what he opted to do. He wasn't going to take the risk in making it any worse for himself even if he did want desperately to fix it as quickly as possible. Instead he decided that when Levi was ready he'd come to him and all he had to was wait on that day.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, everyone, today I will be posting two chapters and the next update will be Thursday around 4pm EST along with Drowning in the Mediterranean. I'm making up for the fact I contracted the flu last week and was unable to update at the given times. Now, it's time to get back on track and continue the story so I hope you will see a little bit of the forming connection. Some of you have already noticed the tender moments that just don't make sense in a purely...I'll just stop and say......they're about to ;)))))))
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Aerials began blaring loudly by his bedside table indicating that someone was calling him. It had been a long day, and an even longer 3 weeks, and he was exhausted so receiving a phone call in the dead of night wasn't exactly the wake up call he needed. Whoever was calling wasn't winning any points with him anytime soon. He grumbled groggily to himself, fumbled to find his glasses, rolled over, and quickly swiped the screen to answer it "Ugh...he-hello?"

"Hey..." the voice sounded on the other end. For a moment he assumed this all one incredibly lucid fever dream stirred up by his subconscious to fuck with him. There was no way in hell that the voice he heard could belong to who he thought it did. After all, there was only once or twice he'd heard the voice. He could just be sleep deprived and making it out to be what he wanted to hear.

Sitting up, Eren tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes " _Levi?_ "

"Yeah?" Levi asked softly as if it wasn't a big deal that he had called him.

"Why are you calling me?" Eren questioned needing to know the answer immediately.

Levi sighed "Can...Can I come over?"

Pulling the phone back Eren squinted and stared at the corner of his screen "It's... _.Jesus_ , Levi it's 3-fucking-am."

"Is that a yes or no?" He asked flatly.

"Uh sure, _why not_ ," Eren replied as his mind raced a mile a second.

"See you shortly," he responded before the line clicked, signaling it ending the call. Eren couldn't believe Levi had woken him up at 3am just to ask to come over. After 2 and half weeks of not speaking of anything aside from simple things in the books it was about damn time the bastard realize what he offered him. It wasn't like he'd said to just call him and they'd apologize. Eren had meant so much more by what he'd said but for a while he'd assumed it to have been lost on him. During their spat he'd asked that Marco keep an eye on him at the races just to see if it had affected Levi as it had himself.

It had worried him a bit when Marco said he hadn't stuck around for anything just left after he'd secured his victories and his crew left with him. Being one to always show respect Levi would have always stayed even just for a half hour to let the crew enjoy some time with him celebrating their victory. Even he would have stayed to show the promoter and his fallen challengers some respect but this had been wrong. In the 4 races he'd missed something had clearly been weighing on his mind so he was thankful that Levi finally called him. He didn't know why at 3am but he figured in a half hour or so he'd figure it all out.

Climbing out of bed he headed downstairs to flip on the porch light and pour himself a glass of water. He was sitting on the couch when he heard the dull roar of a block engine outside the house. Getting up from his seat and pulling down his boxers he opened the door before Levi could get a knock in. Standing in front of the door was Levi like he'd never seen him. He was smiling dressed in a pair of grey sweats and a grey hoodie zipped only to his navel baring his abdomen. With the lack of shirt, slightly red eyes, and the bottle of Ketel One in his hands he knew something was up here.

Scanning him Eren pinching the bridge of his nose and sighed "Levi... are you _drunk_?"

Levi huffed and shook the bottle in hand "No, but I am stoned out of my fucking _mind_ and I'm about to be drunk. Care to join me?"

"I have to work in a few hours, Levi," Eren explained but allowed him to breeze past the door anyhow.

"Not hearing a no," Levi replied as he took a seat on the couch and opened the liquor bottle. "C'mon just a drink, Eren."

"Fine," he smiled as he shut the door " _one_ drink. I'll get us some glasses." When he returned he placed two lowball glasses on the coffee table and sat at Levi's side on the sofa. Levi poured them each a bit of the clear liquor and downed all his in one go before pouring himself another and leaning back into the plush embrace around him. For a moment a silence settled between them and Eren wasn't exactly sure if it was him that should be the one to break it. He wasn't used to this kind of thing. How exactly was he supposed to act? Since he wasn't familiar with it he just waited. He'd waited a day or two shy of three weeks and he could wait for Levi to talk for longer.

Unknowing himself of how to act Levi glanced over at him "I called. What now?"

Eren gave a low sigh and turned his body to face him "I don't know. Is there a reason it's 3am, you're stoned, getting drunk, and at my house? If you wanted to talk Levi _now_ is the time. Tell me whatever you want."

"Petra was my girlfriend," Levi sighed lowly "well, hell, at the time of the accident and all she was my ex. She was still my best friend. I loved her to the ends of this universe though I think after awhile it was more of a protective, family type of love than anything romantic. We got into a lot of trouble when we ended up in that job. I don't talk about my past often, Eren, because it's the stuff of bad movies and nightmares."

Placing a gentle hand at his knee Eren smiled "I'm not asking you to talk about anything that you don't _want_ to, not anymore, I shouldn't have pried the first time. I'm sorry for your loss, Levi, truly."

"Me too," he sighed. "I boosted cars when I was 14. I can still hot wire anything or break into a car in less than 2 minutes. There were 4 of us at the time and we lifted in teams. One is normally a booster and the other's a lookout or a slide, someone who breaks into it. Boosters had to wire and drive like Satan himself was at your toes. It was lucky for us though, we were a good pair, we could do it all. After we jacked the wrong ride when I was 16 I ended up in debt to a guy and I had to work it off. It's how we ended up in that fucking accident. We were running out to the docks and the guy told us don't stop for anyone. We listened. Part of the other condition was that I didn't drive alone which is a huge rule break in the community. It's too dangerous. We did what we're told though. We were just kids. Long story short is there was a war going on and the guy's second in command turned on him, spun us out, flipped the car, and stole the drugs we were carrying. Paramedics had to cut me out of the car, walked out with a souvenir too, but they said Petra was dead before the car stopped flipping. Before they could even do anything about her body the car went up in flames, charred to pieces. Wasn't in the report, no one looked hard enough, but there was accelerant on the car and my gas tank wasn't compromised. They wanted us **dead** that day."

Eren didn't truly know to respond aside from being horrified and appalled as he saw the grief and anger welling in Levi's eyes "Oh my god....Levi...I'm...I don't even _know_ what to say."

Levi managed a halfhearted smile "It's alright. For that I got slapped with involuntary, vehicular, manslaughter while those rat bastards walked. It wasn't right. I'm out to correct it. Eren, I....I'm not a very expressive man...I never really....I don't know how to speak about a lot of things. I'm sorry for yelling at you, but _please_ understand there are some things I will not tell you. You're better off **not** knowing. Plausible deniability and all that."

"It's okay, Levi," Eren chortled "really. I don't have to know everything---" Before he could finish any thought or sentence Levi leaned forward, placed a hand at his jaw, and kissed him. The acrid taste of liquor was laden heavily on his lips along with something he couldn't place, something sweet, but he ignored it and allowed Levi the push he was craving. Levi placed his glass down on the table as Eren sat his on the floor while Levi shoved him back against the couch, body lying flushed against his own. At first he was enjoying the sensation again, losing himself in Levi as his decorated tongue darted past his lips, but then he knew that it wasn't right. As much as he wanted Levi's hand further up his inner thigh he couldn't allow this.

"What?" Levi asked as he sensed his hesitancy.

Eren shook his head and slid back "No, Levi, _we can't_. It's not smart. You're vulnerable and under more than one kind of influence."

Levi sat back on his shins "You're telling me _no_?"

"Yes," Eren sighed "you're high and half drunk. I'm not going to compromise _all_ my morals in one night. Go to bed, Levi, take the spare bedroom and sleep it off. I have to leave in a few hours for work but stay as long as you want."

Grumbling Levi got to his feet "Fine, clearly I shouldn't have---"

Eren cut him off with a deep kiss and cupped his cheek "Do **not** misinterpret me, Levi. I would love to fool around with you....a _sober_ you. I'm not fooling around with buzzed, stoned, emotionally vulnerable you."

"Mmm," Levi hummed, placated, "okay then. Shower upstairs?"

"One downstairs but then again you probably don't remember. Down the hall second door on the right, bedroom before it, and the door at the end of the hall is the linen closet if you need a towel or anything," Eren responded as he got up, grabbed his cup and Levi's, and took them to the sink. When he returned he smiled "Now, go shower and rest."

Levi nodded "Okay, but one more thing," he tugged Eren down and kissed him softly " _thank you_." In response Eren only smiled and kissed him again before heading upstairs to lay back down. Once he climbed the stairs and was inside his room he went over to his computer and decided to erase some things just in case that Levi was just as devious and clever as he'd been. Before he shut it down he made sure to change the password twice and make sure that it was something he had to write down to remember. Afterwards he laid down but was unable to return to the deep slumber he'd been woken from. He wondered why Levi gave him the little bit of information he did.

Sure he appreciated it but after almost 3 weeks of only " _hey, this part goes there,_ " " _see me at seven,_ " " _you can leave now,_ " and " _let's get this over with,_ " he didn't expect him to get fucked up and apologize for his sky high estrogen. He understood he had momentous secrets and things that were better left hidden but he had to also understand with a reputation like the one he clearly had Eren was bound to discover sometime. Eren preferred it happen early instead of later so they could get it out of the way and work past it. Giving Levi his space seemed to be both a good and bad thing but now that they were forming a right track again there wasn't much he could say except someone probably told Levi he was being an asshole and he had to own up to it.

More than likely it was Isabel who reamed him and made him apologize. He didn't know if he'd have done it on his own without some outside help so he'd be sure to pry a little and see who made him come over with a peace offering. It was either that or the entirely nil to none possibility of he just wanted a screw and the one person on his list for that he'd pissed off. No matter, he supposed as long as some things were cleared and they had both made up then there was only the natural progression to move past it and maybe continue their casual fling.

Eventually he'd fallen asleep and awoken a few hours later. Moving around the room he located a pair of black slacks and a cerulean button up taking them off to the bathroom with him so he could shower and get ready for work. He tried to be as quiet as possible while he was sneaking around downstairs, making his coffee, and grabbing a morning snack. It wasn't too long before he heard another car pulling into the drive so he grabbed his things and headed out locking the door behind him. From the steps he could Mika's eyes darting to the Camaro and back to him.

Once he got into the car he sighed "I had company last night, they're still here, and it's not a big deal so leave it alone, Mika."

Her almond eyes glared " _Really?_ Hope you had the courtesy of at least leaving a note for the poor guy."

Eren cursed as she backed out of the drive " **Fuck!** I forgot to do that."

She laughed softly "Yeah....wonder why you can't _keep_ one."

"That's not why and we both _know_ it," he replied saucily.

Taking a sip of her coffee she hummed "Mhmm. Yeah we know why because you find something to nitpick about in everyone and then you use that reason to dump them like yesterday's news or bury yourself in your work and wait until they stop contacting you. Where'd you and Mystery Man meet, huh?"

Creating the first lie that came to mind Eren shrugged "Online, now enough of my nightlife, we have a gym to run."

"No," she corrected " _you_ have a gym to run and I have clients to push." He gave a little chortle and leaned against the door as he removed his phone to send Levi a text that he'd gone to work already. He didn't exactly know how to feel about Levi being alone, unsupervised, in his house but he assumed he wouldn't burn it down or anything. The jury was still out on whether or not he'd be snooping but there wasn't like he had much to hide. What truly worried him was that they hadn't exactly talked through their spat and expressly mentioned how they were moving past it. Levi was more than hint of inebriated and he didn't truly know if his apology was going from Levi's brain, his true emotions, or the bottle of vodka.

Later he supposed he could ask and they could have an honest conversation about what happened and Levi could tell him why he was actually apologizing. He wanted, he needed, to know what the driving force. If there was any way of returning to their previous arrangement he would need to know it. It would feel wrong after that if they simply cut themselves off from one another so the options he were going to present were to be continue with their deal and explain himself or dump everything and pretend it never happened. One would surely cause a bullish ache in his chest that probably would need that bottle of vodka to make it vacate but that was a risk he had to be willing to take.

While he spent most of his morning actively working out in the gym he'd decided to take a page out of Levi's book and take a dip in the pool. Paperwork could wait. He needed a moment of serenity and relaxation and that could only happen early in the morning away from people. He'd floated atop the water a bit as he let his brain try to slow it's processing down. Able to work out one problem at a time, the money for his tuition, the money for upgrading equipment, he seemed to have a good stand on it all. Perhaps relaxing in the pool was the best way to work through his problems. True that he wasn't able to think of solutions for everything bogging him down before a class started in the pool, he still managed a good bit before showering and returning to the office.

It was around 2pm when he finally got back around to working out his brain on the numbers on file for the estimated machine upgrades. He didn't exactly want to be staring at it forever so he welcomed the distraction when an email notification popped up on the side of his computer. Clicking it he only became much more confused. The sender's email was one he recognized but it was damn near impossible. Eren's phone was in his pocket and yet somehow he had received an email from his personal account to the business email he'd set up for himself. There was only one explanation for it.

 

 **_From: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Nice try but you're too easy

 

Glaring down at the email he sighed and shook his head. Perhaps he'd known that he'd change the password and waited. Mentalism didn't seem like something he could play but he knew something wasn't right. Quickly he responded back to his own email

 

 **_To: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

You're on my computer

 

Within seconds he had a reply. It seemed like Levi was up and about already going through his personal files.

 

 **_From: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Sue me. I just wanted to look over your thesis.

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

And my browser history no doubt

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Just like you did to me but unfortunately for you when Im stoned I think clearer.

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

You got stoned in my house? My bedroom better not smell like weed. What did you find in my history aside from nothing since I cleared it last night?

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Smoked outside, common courtesy, but it's interesting to see you thinking like a criminal although you'll have to remember that I am one. I may have prison in my history but I can still recover yours.

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Ohhh scary. Lemme save you the time though I did a full comprehensive background search on you to see what I missed when your estrogen hit sky high

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Saw that. Anything else?

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Yeah. Get the hell off my laptop

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Oh? You're giving the orders now, that's funny, real cute, Eren.

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

I've sucked your dick Levi Im not scared of you

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Fair point though I figure I owe you some information

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

What's that?

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

I only had your email hacked; you just told me everything I needed to know

 ** _To: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Are you kidding me?

 **From: Eren Jaeger** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

I'm a felon Eren. You know I spent a lot of time behind bars, I can barely work my own email, and so Hanji called and talked me through something called remote access in which she got your email password figured out.

 **_To: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

I can't believe you. Anything else?

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

Yeah, I'm coming to get you to take you out to dinner. Be ready by 7. In the meantime Im gonna see what porn sites you frequent and snoop around your bedroom

 **_To: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Jokes on you. I'm old school. I keep all my shit under the bed.

**_From: Eren Jaeger <jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Seriously?

**_To: Eren Jaeger <jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

No, old man, it's called the internet. My porn is safely bookmarked on my phone. It's a lot easier to have that in the bed than a laptop......but if you're truly curious there's a section in my browser that syncs my bookmarks to the laptop. Anything else you wanna know?

**From: Eren Jaeger <jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>**

Sure, red or white?

**_To: Eren Jaeger <jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Uh....red. The wine is better and it's a good color for you. I think you can go now.

 ** _From: Eren Jaeger_** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_**

You sure?

 **_To: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Yeah and if you need anything check to the top left drawer. Clean my sheets. I'll see you later.

 **_From: Eren Jaeger_ ** **_< jaegerbomb6272@gmail.com>_ **

Maybe I will, remember 7pm, and don't keep me waiting. Your new password will be the number of hours I spent trapped. Bye, Eren.

Eren leaned back in his chair and groaned loudly. Of all things he'd aired his own dirt and Hanji helped him get into his laptop. What he wondered was Hanji could have guessed the password when it was a series of 12 numbers. He'd definitely be sure to start a photo password instead or facial recognition or maybe even a fingerprint scanner. All that had happened had been more than strange. Levi now knew where his porn was not that it was a bad thing, he'd be able to tell what he was into, but he also wanted to take him to dinner. That didn't exactly scream casual to him. He had to wonder what exactly he aimed to discuss over dinner.

Dinner and wine made it seem like something was going to turn serious. Perhaps he'd even get a chance at seeing the real side of him. Was there something he wanted from him, was it to discuss the crew, was it a cover for something, or did he want to seriously take him on a date? It was a blur. Their agreement had been casual, fun, and at times spontaneous. Now it was taking a potential turn into uncharted territory and he didn't know how to act. Instead he opted to focus on how the hell to get back into his computer.

Levi had said the number of hours he spent trapped was the new password. First thing he did was pull up the report he had on Levi and counted that he'd been in jail for 7 months and in prison for 7 years. Off the top of his head was useless knowledge such as how many hours were in a year so he scribbled down 8,760 and then multiplied it by 7, after arriving at 61,320 he then added the number of hours in seven months to arrive at 67,452 total hours. Amazed by how long that truly was, Eren released a low trill. He couldn't believe Levi had spent so long behind bars. It was nearly a third of his life. Part of it wasn't even his fault. He knew that now but he still felt bad for mentioning it in their spat while part of him still wanted to understand and know more than he'd been told.

Wondering if Levi would tell him took up most of his mental capacities for the evening. After he discovered that he needed to tell someone he'd be out he decided to go inform the two people most willing to understand: Marco and Armin. He found the two lounging around the front desk and informed them he'd be leaving around 7 but unsure when he'd get back. When asked about his activities he touched the tip of his nose and arched a brow towards Marco who grinned widely and nodded. He'd understood then but Armin was lost so he simply told him that he had a date to go on. Armin gave him a smile and a pat to the shoulder before he skirted them and got back to his office to do a little bit more work.

Once it was 15 until 7pm Eren found himself pacing behind the front desk wiggling his fingers. To put it out right he was nervous. He was antsy not knowing what was waiting for him once he got inside that car with Levi. From earlier he'd seemed to be back to his playful self but it could have been to placate him or a number of things. The unknown wasn't something Eren often liked to chance, for reasons that it put him in his current anxious state, but the fact of the matter was that it was Levi. If he was being given a chance to make up for what happened and be met halfway then he'd take it even if he was unsure of what exactly lied in wait for him.

In the very moment the fog lifted from his brain he felt his gut wring. Two taillights he knew were positioned just outside the door and he heard a car door slam. Levi was outside waiting on him so he took a deep breath and made his first step towards the door not wanting him to meet him inside for fear of Mikasa's lecture later. As he pushed it open and stepped outside he noticed Levi was leaning against the door like something from a cheesy 80's rom-com. Due to the night it was difficult to see just how exactly how he was dressed but the blazer was definitely new. He looked rather nice in one, it squared his shoulders a bit, and he wondered what he'd look like if he ever donned a suit.

With a grin he gestured towards the passenger door and so Eren rounded the hood and opened the door taking his seat inside. Levi followed suit turning over the engine and taking them out of the gym parking lot. Eren was about to ask where it was they were going but Levi just shushed him and that only served to make him nervous. What really began to turn his stomach was when he realized they were driving away from the city not into it's heart. Outside of the city normally meant swamps and canals along with just about nowhere to have dinner unless that was dinner was for alligators and they were the dinner. His one trip into the Everglades with Marco had been enough to make him know he didn't much care for swamps so wherever Levi was taking him he wanted to know.

At his second attempt of asking Levi just smiled and laughed to himself. Now this was starting to get sketchy. It had been almost a half hour since they'd left the gym and now he was staring down a long, winding dirt road leading to nowhere smack in the middle of gator land. Eren straightened up in his seat as he tried to see down the meandering curve of the road but got nothing. Levi was driving slow on the gravel careful not to sling any and perhaps to keep him from seeing where they were going, trying to drag out the pool of anxiety in his stomach.

Once he looked ahead he noted a widening of the area only to see a large clearing in the center of the densely wooded area. Catty-cornered off to the side was a metal building that the road began to wrap around. There were some saw horses outside along with various things hanging on wire that looked like they'd been painted. It was too hard to see in the dark and make it out clearly but as they continued to drive he suddenly had an idea where they were. Approaching a flint brick home with cream shutters, a covered porch, and no other car in the drive he had an idea Levi had just brought him home for dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1/2


	16. Chapter 16

Glancing around he tried to catch a view of the area around them. Levi had yet to shut off the headlights so he was able to see only just beyond them but it seemed to be a good little nest for Levi. He was away from nearly everyone and he could work on his cars as long as he wanted since no one could pitch a bitch fit about the noise. His attention jerked back to Levi as he shut off the headlights and killed the engine. He pushed open his door just as Levi had and waited for him to lead the way in the dark. The moment Levi took a step closer towards the house a motion light cut on illuminating the stone walkway perfectly. 

While they walked up onto the porch Eren couldn't help but snicker. There was a tiny aluminum bowl of water and a dish of dry cat chow. Levi was either feeding raccoons, opossums, or he had a penchant for feeding the stray swamp kitties. How sweet. It was kind of hard to imagine Levi having a soft spot for anything furry but he imagined it was either that or ones with scales. Either way Levi having a care for something aside from himself was interesting and he assumed he'd just gotten the first look at what lied beneath the masks he wore.

Levi beckoned him inside with a laugh "If you stand out here staring into the dark I'm  **not** saving you from a gator." Eren rolled his eyes and followed him across the threshold, taking his first step into Levi's home. He flicked on the lights and Eren scanned the area. It wasn't the normal monochromatic color scheme he expected from Levi....instead the place had a woman's touch. Considering Isabel was like his sister he assumed that she lived there as well and it would explain lace on the maroon curtains, the cream sofa, and the stainless steel kitchen appliances along with it's marble countertops. Hardwood flooring was a shoo-in since Levi hated to be dirty and he knew the things carpets held didn't just involve odor or dirt.

Over his shoulder Eren asked "So, when's Isabel getting home?"

Almost offended, Levi narrowed his eyes "Isabel doesn't live here. She has an apartment with her boyfriend."

Eren nodded with a slight smirk "Are you telling me you're feeding swamp strays and like _ lacy  _ curtains? 'Cause this place has a serious woman's feel to it."

Levi scowled as he headed towards the kitchen and opened the stove "They look nice and I don't mind feeding the cat. She hangs out while I work on my cars down at the garage and I appreciate the company. When I went to jail for a few months Isabel took care of the house and redecorated since she said it was depressing in here."

"Makes sense," Eren replied quickly "most men decorate in monochromatic schemes and I'm guessing you had everything black. It'd make more sense if she decorated."

"Fair enough," Levi chuckled as he moved around the kitchen searching through drawer "but take a seat at the bar."

Unable to contain his curiosity any longer Eren took a seat atop the bar stool and sighed "How about you tell me why I'm here? _ Really. _ "

Turning Levi arched a brow "Can't you wait until dinner for the questions?"

"No," Eren answered flatly.

Levi walked over and placed a corkscrew in his palm "Then at least make yourself useful and open the chiller. Pick any you want and pop it." Doing as asked he scampered over to the left side of the kitchen and noted the small cooler atop the counter. Inside were eight bottles of wine, 4 red, 2 white, and 2 rosé. Rolling each over, he had a hard time deciding which one to grab. He didn't exactly have wine expert or connoisseur in his description.

"Any one of them?" Eren asked to clarify trying to ascertain if Levi had a preference. 

Shifting his gaze to Eren he nodded "Yeah, so long as it's red. You said red so I cooked for red. Wines pair with certain things, Merlot, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet will go good with filet mignon."

Eren placed a hand to his chest and chuckled "Ohoho, he knows wine and wants to so  _ evidently  _ get me outta my panties." 

Levi arched a brow "Are you  _ wearing  _ panties? Because I didn't see  _ that _ in your fetish list."

"So you  _ did _ go through my porn," Eren laughed as he grabbed a bottle of Pinot Noir and removed the cork to allow it to breathe "but no, I'm not. You've seen my underwear unless you've forgotten so soon."

"Too bad," Levi shrugged "your preference is nice but one might wonder what you would look like in lace now that the thought is out there."

"Mhmm," Eren rolled his eyes "sure, you're just wondering about it  _ now. _ You brought me here to feed me, get me drunk, and sleep with me, didn't you? Your nefarious scheme has been uncovered."

Bringing over the plates of food, and pouring their wine, Levi took his seat beside Eren "I've wanted in your pants for a while, and that's no secret, but it's not why you're here tonight. There are some things I'd like to tell you since in my fucked up state I gave you a brief snippet."

"This have anything do with what I hear is on the back of your neck?" Eren asked after taking a bite. Levi stood up and tugged the back of his blazer down so that Eren could make out each mark. No more than a centimeter wide there were four of them across the back of his neck. The bars were filled in with black except one that wasn't shaded, only outlined, while beneath it rested the phrase " _ Karma's going to come collect your debt. _ " He remembered Marco saying there was still one open and he thought back to the name he'd seen searched. Chances were the two were connected if those lines on his skin meant what was rumored.

When he sat back down he adjusted and just smiled "These marks......their reasons are better left never reaching your ears."

Eren drank a sip of his wine and tilted his head "Why is that?"

"Because," Levi started before taking a drink of his own "certain crimes don't have a statute of limitations and you'd want to deny  **ever** knowing about it."

"I see. So, what, you're going to air what you can to me? Eren asked as he met his gaze.

Levi nodded "I am."

Curiosity getting the better of him Eren had to ask " _ Why _ ?"

"You deserve to know if I have to drag you into this and I don't want to have to lie to you anymore it's too much work, and before you ask why I'll tell you," Levi stated as he dropped his fork and turned to Eren, expression contorting into something serious.

Replicating his action Eren turned to him and smiled "I think I know already though."

"Oh?" Levi asked "Am I quite as transparent as Jean said I was?"

"Yes," Eren chuckled "you want to use me for something important but it requires that I know everything I can so---"

Levi interrupted with a wide grin "Wow you are  _ so _ off--"

"Stop and let me finish," Eren scolded. "It's so I can hear it from your own mouth, I mean, you wouldn't want the guy you have feelings for to think that you're not only a liar but a bastard too. Did I get it?"

Clearing his throat Levi shrugged "Meh, basically."

"Thought so," Eren snickered with a grin "but my ego would  _ love _ for you to say it."

"What?" Levi snarked "You wanna hear me say the feelings I do have for you aren't in my pants? Well.....not  _ only _ ? Fine. Eren, I  _ do _ have romantically inclined feelings for you but it's not necessarily a good thing. It's gonna put a nifty little target right between your eyes for the people that do not like me. Namely cops and other criminals I have pissed off in my youth when I burnt them. When you come across some of these people in a few days I want you to be prepared for the light that they're going to paint me in."

Eyes searching Levi's Eren's voice softened "Which is what exactly?"

He scoffed and shrugged "Depends: thief, traitor,......murderer."

"And are you?" Eren forced himself to ask, feeling the knot of dread tighten deep in his gut.

"Nothing has ever been proven," Levi replied through a large swig of wine "but some people....have.... _ disappeared _ that were related to my first charge. It wasn't exactly like I was number one suspect. They were criminals....so...I was number 2."

"Plausible deniability," Eren uttered quietly. Levi touched the tip of his nose and pointed to him as if he'd gotten the answer right. "So, uh, these people that have  _ disappeared, _ who were they exactly?"

Levi clicked his teeth in response "Tch, no one worth breath. Just crew members the world won't be missing."

Eren widened his eyes and took a sip of his wine "Sounds sketchy, but alright."

"I'm a criminal," Levi laughed "so I  _ am _ sketchy."

"True," he replied with a lilt "but everyone likes a  _ bad boy, _ right?"

Leaning forward Levi paused "I don't care about everyone's opinion. Just one matters to me.  _ Do you _ ?"

Eren stammered "I...uh,....I don't _ not _ like them?"

Hand at his knee Levi leaned closer until he could almost feel Eren's breath against his skin "That's not the answer I'm looking for Eren. Am I wasting my time thinking of chasing after you or are you wanting this to stay as casual as we had intended?"

With a heavy sigh Eren got down from his stool and turned his back to him "Levi....do you want honesty or platitudes?"

Following him to where he stood Levi hesitantly asked "Is that a shitty joke? Honesty, Eren."

Shifting to meet his gaze, letting him know he wasn't lying, Eren sighed "I have very  _ mixed _ feelings about you Levi. Everything about you is such a mystery and I find myself getting the door slammed in my face when I even try to peek behind it. You pushed me away with one _ hell  _ of a shove and now you're trying to pull me back my belt. I don't know if I'm chasing tail or my own tail anymore. I hate just about everything you do. I hate the racing and the way you act around other people, so friendly without actively giving a shit. You're wearing so many masks over your face I don't know which one is yours, Levi, I don't know who you _ really _ are under it all.....but I  _ want  _ to. For some reason I am drawn to you like insects to light but it stops me because do I want to like you? No....and yes. I don't  _ want _ to like you because my brain tells me it's wrong, you're one of things I hate most in this world, but it's the  _ only  _ thing saying that. I want to know you, what makes you tick, how you truly feel about things, I want you to stop being so goddamned closed off to me. I get that I'm a kid and you think I don't know anything about hardship, or maybe I won't get you, or maybe I'll look down at you. Until I  _ know _ you I can't say anything for sure so show me who  _ are _ , Levi, and then I'll decide if he's worth telling you anything else."

Taking a moment to process the information given to him, Levi secured a hand around Eren's wrist tugging him to the sofa "Then we have a  _ very  _ long night ahead of us. Ready to take a trip into the mind of a criminal, come take a walk on the wild side?"

Eren chuckled "Well, I'm sure ready to stop being in the dark so let's go to Oz."

"Over the rainbow we go," Levi said calmly as Eren sat on the sofa and Levi returned with their dinner and wine.

As they ate they decided to begin where it all does "So, Levi, how about your childhood? Happy?"

"Not likely," Levi answered "My mother died when I was about 6. I don't remember her too much and I was taken in my uncle who was not exactly a man of strong moral high ground. He has as much merit as the gum on the sidewalk outside my shop. He's a gangbanger. Top brass. Run's a whole crew down in L.A. called The Royal A's.  _ Ha ha _ . Last name pun. I skipped out from under him at 14. I was your typical L.A. street rat and I starting boosting cars for a chop shop when I struck out on my own. There I met Isabel, Petra, and even Farlan who was the owner's son. Is and Petra had similar stories to my own. Is' parents abandoned her and Petra's died in a plane crash when she was 12. We were a rather ragtag group of kids but we were family, we are family. For a while I pined over Petra without her really knowing....or so I  _ thought _ . She was cute, about my height at the time, strawberry hair she kept pulled up and bright hazel eyes. Unfortunately I didn't notice that  _ she  _ had noticed and when we were on a job I had my hand on a slide to jimmy the lock and I turned to ask for her for my bag and she kissed me. I ended up elbowing her in the nose and breaking it she surprised me so hard. Worst first kiss **ever** haha, but uh, yeah, we dated for about a year and half before it went splitsville. Afterwards we were still close."

Eren took the break in his words to pose "Why'd you break it off after such a  _ tremendous _ first kiss?"

Levi glared for a moment before it fell away "She, uh,  _ strayed _ . A momentary lapse in judgment she called it. While I loved her with everything I had I couldn't trust her anymore so I ended it."

"I'm sorry," Eren offered.

He smiled softly "Me too. She was, at one time, the love of my life but afterwards we managed to be friends somehow...managed to go back to being family really. We tried to ignore what happened and move on with business but it wasn't that easy. A relit cigarette never tastes the same, ya know? Anyway, we tried to boost a car for the shop one afternoon and that was when we got the wrong car. We were out in an abandoned, decrepit like parking deck area where no one normally came when we spotted the car that we thought was our take. Turns out there was a man named Dante Mezzaloni who owned that particular car and used the area for his smugglers. Let's say that there was enough uncut blow in that car to make Columbia second place on the national market. After we boosted it and got it back to the shop everyone was excited.....until they weren't. Next day we got a nice little message. The shop had been lit up like a Christmas Tree, Farlan's dad strapped to a chair inside missing his fingers....and his tongue."

Eren recoiled as he felt his stomach churn "Ugh....my god that sounds like a bad horror movie. Who exactly  _ was  _ this guy?"

"A kingpin," Levi answered softly "one I'd come to work for. It was terrifying for a bunch of 15 and 16 year old kids  _ especially  _ after we got the bill they were looking for us. Apparently Farlan's pop owed a slew of fucking money to some people that you wouldn't even want to owe a penny to and he used the coke to settle that debt. These people wanted their product back though and made sure we knew it because they left us a little note. So the rest of my family wouldn't have to deal with my mistake I decided to take the note, get the address, and go meet them by myself. I wanted to make things right...only when I arrived---"

"Petra had the same idea," Eren interrupted. 

Levi gave him a nod "Yeah. She was a fast boost and a better racer. Guess who actually taught me how to race? Exactly. It was our way to have a little fun after we boosted. We'd meet up and race them back to the shop so it was no surprise that she beat me. Shit was like out in the middle of the damn desert when we met the guy. When he got there he was this this huge guy about 6'6" and 230lbs. He saw us and fucking  _ laughed _ . I haven't grown since I was 15 so you can imagine. He said we weren't what he expected and kept laughing so, me not being the brightest person, I bucked up. He laughed again and asked about the make and model of the car. I repeated it and told him we were just boosting it for the shop off a tip, we didn't know what was inside. Of course he didn't believe us but the second his fingers touched Petra's cheek and offered to take out our debt on  _ her  _ I screamed. I lost my fucking cool and I punched him. In return I took a nasty hit to the jaw but he said he liked my fire, my loyalty, and asked if I'd do it for her. I said I'd do  _ whatever  _ he wanted so long as he left her out of it."

Eren smiled and leaned back into the sofa "That was incredibly admirable of you. Is that where the drug trafficking came from?"

"Not exactly," he chuckled "that happened later. He needed a drug runner but his men only rode in pairs so they could be watched. Petra volunteered as my second. It wasn't all he wanted of us though once he figured out we were racers. Using us in races got him money quick but it meant providing us with decent cars. We let in Isabel and Farlan on the idea and they were there with us when they raced for pinks. Kept them in some money and taken care of while we weren't making anything or boosting."

"So how long exactly before the, uh...--"

"Accident? About 6 months, a little less. It was brought up as some big time race he was putting us in. Goal was to win so we did our best. What we didn't know at the time was it was a contest to find the best runner and we were carrying enough heroin to put us in bars for a while. His second in command, a man by the name of Erwin Smith, wasn't planning on letting us win the race though. See he and some lackeys had decided to screw over their boss and they were forcefully taking the reins. From what I hear Erwin blew the dude's brains out and shoved his body off somewhere. Afterwards the sting was on to get what we had so he found us thanks to the GPS in the car and took out our back tire and bumped the side of the car. We fishtailed, lost control, barreled over the barricade. He knew which car had to the product and who to bump off:  _ us _ . He set us up. I came to when the cops and responders were trying to cut me out of the car but there wasn't anything we could do for Petra. They barely got me out before it blew. I spent my time in recovery cuffed to a hospital bed," Levi finished, his face paler than normal as he recalled the trauma of youth.

Eren grimaced "Oh my god...that's...is  _ that _ how you got the scar?"

"My scar came from a piece of the dashboard that embedded itself into my skin," he began again "but it's a bit large for _ just _ that isn't it? A guy came in with a switch and gutted up through my wound and tore at my appendix before someone heard me screaming. Courtesy of Mr. Smith and a " _ crazy _ " orderly escaped from the ding wing of the psych floor. I got popped for the charge just before my 17th birthday."

"Good  **god** that man wanted you dead!" Eren screeched, horrified at the thought of having a switch blade rip open his abdomen.

Levi chuckled "Wanted implies he still  _ doesn't. _ This is important though Eren, he  _ is _ looking for me and I'm  **not** hiding. I worked for Erwin after I got out for a little while before I got popped for the run he turned me in on after I declined his offer of being a higher up. Dude doesn't take well to the word no. You wanna know I got that extra year on me for assault though? A guy from that previous crew told me that Petra was better off dead rather than seeing what Erwin turned me into. I beat the hell out of him and he'd lucked out a hornets nest went off or I'd probably  _ have  _ a murder charge. There's a reason I spent 6 months in solitary of that year since some other words were exchanged. Mainly that I'd drive a screwdriver into his carotid when he went to sleep."

Eren's eyes widened "Well you're a bucket of  _ sunshine _ . Do I _ wanna  _ know what prison life was like for you?"

Taking a moment, Levi's eyes rolled before his lips were in a concerning smirk "Are you asking me if got  _ punked _ in prison Eren?"

Realizing his word choice wasn't great he immediately faltered as he tried to backpedal "No... _ oh my god. _ ..that's not what I...-- I was going to ask more about your drug history since all the running of it and shit."

"Great so now you're asking if I was on smack, crank, dust, or glass too. The answer is no to _ all _ of the above. I was not someone's bitch in prison and I was not an addict. Though in case you're wondering I  _ did _ have a sex life in prison and I  _ did _ snort my fair share of blow off a body or two, and smoked some weed along with dropped a few hits of acid, or had some peyote tea here and there but not while behind bars," Levi explained as he laughed at Eren's flustered expression.

Eren pouted as Levi continued to laugh "Well I guess there's  _ that _ out of the way then. Did you discover you were gay in prison?"

"Why does  _ everyone _ think that?" Levi pondered aloud before huffing "And not gay, I'm  _ bisexual, _ but no I didn't. I knew when I ran off and then he called me a _ faggot _ so I wasn't planning on going back. Prison just made it difficult to abstain from. Sweaty guys working out on the yard half naked? Come on, we  _ both _ know that's a turn on," Levi jested as he noticed Eren's red cheeks.

"Oh hush," he responded with a hint of snark before it fell away to be replaced by concern and compassion "but I'm sorry, Levi, that you've had such a hard life. You  **never** deserved to get wrapped up in all this. I'm beginning to think those guys who disappeared deserved it."

"So would a lot of people," Levi replied. "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

He gave a nod "Yeah, why keep racing after it all?"

Levi smirked "It was the glue that held my family together. The track, with roaring engines and screaming crowds who understood, it was where were fit in for once. For once with everyone else we were a part of something that allowed us to just be _ free _ and give it all we had to just let go. It's also my means to an end."

With one more in mind Eren stared down at his lap "Okay, how about this one. Why do you  _ like _ me, Levi? At first I was just kid staring at you then I was a crew member who you threatened into it that you just wanted to screw around with, so what is it now? What's changed?"

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Eren," he began with a blinding smile as he lifted his chin, forcing his eye contact "I may not have had the world's easiest life but you didn't either. I know you don't like what I do but I make sure to do it safely. No one gets hurt here. I like you because you're smart, quick witted, even with the barrel of a loaded gun between your eyes you were resolved and bold, you're just absolutely stunning and a complete contradiction at times Eren. You're almost my polar opposite and normally that would piss me off but you were so damn concerned about me and those around you. I did nothing but refuse to see what was in front of me. You put everyone ahead of yourself that first race when you decided to meet my anger and save everyone's ass. You could have just left and said nothing, let us get pinched, but you didn't. I haven't been looking at you and truly seeing what a magnificent person you are even if you hate what I do. I suck at feelings. I run from them. I hide. I try to force them away and I push people away when they get too close or even try. you know you were wrong to not ask me about my past and go behind my back but I was wrong for shoving you back in the way I did and I'm sorry. I should have just accepted what you knew and moved on but I couldn't. You got angry and then I did and we were both wrong for how we acted but I'm scared, Eren, I can't trust but so many people in this world and every time I let someone in I wonder if they're going to be the knife in my back. Jean told me I was an oblivious bastard to why I was acting the way I did and everyone agreed with him but I didn't until I could sit here and finally see who you are."

Staring back into those eyes and seeing that sparkling smile Eren was unable to prevent his own "Thank you and I'm sorry too. After everything I shouldn’t have pushed you and antagonized you. I guess after I knew it already I was upset you just wouldn't tell me. Both our tempers flared a bit too high that night. I believe you've earned the rest of my honesty. I know you can't handle feelings very well but neither can I. I do find you interesting and beautiful, far more fucking  _ gorgeous _ than any damn criminal has any right to be, but I am torn between the fact I already like you and the part where I don't know if I'm  _ allowed _ to. I'm supposed to hate all racers but here I am finding amazing people among them. I've made friends like Hanji and Is and hell even Jean out of this. Then there's you, Levi. I'm not supposed to  _ want _ to spend my evenings learning about cars and getting dirty with you but I do. I can't possibly understand myself when I've come to realize that I have fun around you and everyone else. I want this and I want _ you  _ but you have to understand I also don't know how to feel about that."

"I'll gladly teach you _ anything _ you want," Levi beamed "like how to change your oil or a tire, but the one thing I will teach you is that racers are just people. Our hobby, what we love, doesn't mean we're all bad people. Like anything else there are bad and good, you just have to find the right ones."

"Which are you?" Eren asked softly as Levi's thumb rubbed over his cheek.

"Depends on who you ask on what day," he chuckled lowly "right now though, I'm the one who wants to know if I bared my soul and past to you for no reason."

Not even having to think for a second on his answer Eren shook his head "No, you didn't Levi. I  _ do _ need to know that you can understand my hesitancy though. I'm not exactly prime dating material."

Levi rolled his eyes "I'm a  _ felon _ . Come back with another one haha."

"Fair point," Eren smiled "you've got a  _ hell  _ of a lot of baggage--"

"But I'm loaded?" Levi interrupted with a devious smirk.

Eren grumbled "No....although if you're going to bring that up I  _ expect  _ some doting. I was going to say I expect you to show me progress through it. I want displays of your affection, Mr. I-Hate-Emotion-And-Try-To-Be-Sooo-Cool."

"I don't pretend to _ not _ have emotion," Levi began with a low voice "I just don't show them much. You have to understand that I'm not used to that. Intimacy is something I was starved of so it makes me crave it unlike anything else but my issues with people keep me from that. I'll show you everything you ever wanted to know about me Eren. No barriers. No walls. No obstacles. Honestly. I'll be as real as I am now. I will display affection like beginning with, oh I dunno, dinner and wine at my house?"

"Good plan," Eren laughed "but I'll tell you my flaw is finding yours and  _ obsessing  _ over it. I think it's what I'm doing now with the make you come to me bit… if you didn't like I honestly thought you wouldn't then I could cut all ties with you after knowing you're a felon and why I didn't want to agree with anything other than physical release at first. I didn't want to like you. I just wanted to keep being blind too. We both are works in progress. First things first though, you have to admit you were a _ dick _ and tell me what's up with the races."

"Deal," Levi stated. "We'll work on ourselves  _ together. _ I do have to admit I was a huge fucking prick and I'm sorry. Everyone yelled at me by the way. They love you already haha. As for the races.....one of them is tomorrow, the last invitational. I got my ticket early though so I have to be in Houston, Texas in a few days. I want you to come with me. Is and Farlan are coming since I got offered 3 places for my crew and I'd really enjoy having you there."

Eren's chest lightened as he leaned forward to kiss him "Congratulations! But do you really think I can take god only knows how long off?"

Levi pulled him back for another kiss "Mmm, I know you can. I talked to Marco at the last race and he said you holed yourself up and keep everything done  _ weeks  _ in advance. Don't worry about everything else. I'll cover it. In fact, my accommodations have already been booked."

"What about Is and Farlan?" Eren managed as he tugged back.

"Have been together for about 6 years," he chuckled "so I think they can handle their own room."

" _ Seriously? _ !" Eren shouted a bit louder than he'd meant "Did your family never get the "don't shit where you eat" memo?"

Levi arched a brow "He who lives in glass houses, Eren..."

" _ Damn, _ " Eren chuckled as he fell back against the sofa with an airy huff "guess so. What now?"

" _ Now, _ Eren Jaeger," Levi grinned as he moved to hover atop him "you're dating a criminal who brought you to his house to woo y---"

Bursting out with laughter Eren cackled " _ Woo?!  _ Oh my god you're ancient. Have you flirted since  _ Babylon _ ?"

"Ouch," Levi grumbled with a pout as he sat back "I'm only like 6 years older than you. I guess I could show you something only  _ very _ few people have seen."

Eren quirked an eyebrow before sighing "I swear if you say your bedr--"

"My favorite car," he interrupted as his grin widened "although I'd _ love _ to show that sometime too. Maybe  _ tie  _ you to the headboard and see what I can get away with."

"More research," Eren replied as he got to his feet "give you a gold star. Let's go to that personal safe haven of yours." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2/2 Hope to see you all come Thursday! You've passed the halfway point in the fic with this chapter so allow me to say thank you for staying with me this long and putting up with all the health issues. It means a ton, y'all. Thank you.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back y'all! I hope you enjoy this chapter of Levi showing off his things (haha) and showing his vulnerability a bit. As always your next update will come Sunday. The schedule is posted on my profile for those of you who keep asking and are new to the story! Without further delay, here we go!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Once they finished up their dinner Levi took a hold on his hand and carefully led him out of the house. It wasn't much of a long walk though he'd taken the opportunity to slow down and walk hand in hand with Levi. His life had just taken a nose dive into territory he didn't know but he didn't care. Being at Levi's side suddenly made him feel safe as if he belonged there to both ground Levi and lift himself to a place where he could let go. Having fun with Levi was something he quite looked forward to as well as seeing him ditch his façade and replace it with himself. All he wanted was what he had. Life was strange in the way it worked but, for right now, life was actually quite good.

As they walked he found that getting to laugh and lean into Levi as their fingers intertwined naturally was quite nice. Learning that Levi was getting bitched at for being an asshole by everyone felt pretty damn good as well. A victory was still a victory no matter how great or small so he'd revel in that knowledge and be sure to rub it in when he got the chance. In the moment the fact was that Levi was smiling and excited to show him the garage that he knew to be the most sacred place Levi could be taking him. Thinking to himself that he was now in a full on relationship with the man at his side was a bit terrifying but once he let himself think it was Levi, it was what he wanted, he couldn't exactly too be horrified at all of it.

The thoughts left his head as Levi broke their connection to go unlock the door to the garage and drive the Camaro inside. Once the car was safely parked, he exited to flip on the several rows of overhead lighting that coated the massive area in bright, fluorescent lighting. Stepping up to his side Eren's eyes darted from one end of the building to the other. There was a lot of room inside but most of it was covered with parts and tool boxes. From what he could tell there were four cars sitting inside. One was at the back of the garage, shining beneath a light all it's own, lighting up the bright candy apple red paint job to an almost eye watering degree. There was the 350Z that Jean loved, the Supra he'd only seen once, and another beneath a silver tarp. From everything strewn about it seemed the one place exempt from Levi's hardcore cleaning regime was his garage.

Levi led him to the back where the red vehicle screamed at his retinas "This is 1972 Chevy Chevelle. Pure, classic, American muscle car and she'll never see a track again."

"What's the purpose of a car if you don't drive it?" Eren asked with a hint of confusion.

Grinning proudly he held his chin high "You don't drive trophies, Eren. I won her fair and square and she doesn't leave this garage."

"Oh, so boy and his toys, huh?" Eren laughed with a grin.

Levi looped an arm around his waist "Toys belong in the  _ bedroom _ and I do like to play with a few things, Eren, but my cars are not one of them."

Eren placed a hand to his chest "Mhmm, sure, so what's under the tarp?"

"Been waiting for you to ask," he said with a giddy fluidity. Dragging him over to the tarp he made Eren wait while he grabbed an end of the tarp and waved it as he yanked it backwards to reveal Eren's still mangled Civic. New parts had been put on it and he could see that the engine had been completely rebuilt along with shining pieces of parts off to the side and what looked to be a freshly painted black hood behind them hanging up to dry. Glancing from the car to Levi Eren sighed and smiled, almost ear to ear, before he stepped up to Levi and bending to kiss him softly.

"You brought my car home with you," he stated as if it were some grand gesture.

"I'd figured," Levi began holding him closely "we could get more done if I focus on it here when I need to occupy my mind and I had to do a lot of that. I rebuilt the engine myself though it didn't need too much. New fuel injectors, chrome plated rods beneath it, she's gonna get what I'd put into one of mine. Might take a week longer but, hey, call it me making it up to you. If you'd like we can even work on it together. I'll show you a few things."

While he appreciated the sentiment Eren had to laugh "Ahaha, Levi, I don't even know  _ why _ wrenches have labels. I can't even change a tire and I've never even changed the wiper fluid. I've  _ never _ had a need for antifreeze until I moved but even then I had a mechanic do it."

Levi chuckled as he backed up "Haha,  _ wow, _ the car is lucky she's in capable hands now. You know that's the fun of learning though, one day I'll show you how to do all that, but I won't show you _ too _ much. I might outlive my usefulness."

"Careful there, Folsom, are you saying my hands  _ aren't  _ capable?" Eren jested with a smirk.

Sighing, Levi pushed his hand through his hair "Great, here come the convict jokes. I  _ knew _ this would happen."

"Oh you  _ should _ have," he replied as he leaned against a workbench "so is this what you do to relax? Come here to tinker?"

Levi's eyes narrowed as he huffed "Hmph. How dare you. I do **not** tinker first of all and second of all it's not just to relax. It helps me think."

"Forgive me your highness," Eren joked as he heard the feigned hurt in his voice "but it's almost 11pm and I never told anyone that I wasn't returning. You've kept me out all night and I have no idea what my sister is going to say."

Pausing in thought he tossed an idea with a grin "You could announce you're dating me and see how well that goes over. That'd be the easiest thing to say."

"Considering you want to drag me away to _ hell  _ next weekendddd..." he drawled as he thought it out "I might."

"It's just Texas....okay, nevermind you got me," Levi chuckled "but you'll be alone with me...in a hotel room that we only have to leave _  twice. _ "

As Levi wrapped him drawling out his words so smoothly Eren hummed "Mmmm, that's true which means I should be prepared to disrespect a hotel room."

Levi kissed his throat "Now  _ that's _ what I like to hear but, you know, I think you're the only person I'd let disrespect my  _ garage _ ."

Eren leaned into the kiss and had to ask "Does that turn you on? I noticed that when you're around your cars and I kiss you it seems to set your fire."

"I'm a street racer, Eren," he whispered against his skin "just the roar of an engine makes my heart beat faster so what do you think having you around them does to me? Having sex in or around a car is enough to make me lose my fucking  _ mind. _ In a running car and  _ my  _ motor will be the one on overdrive."

"Noted," Eren responded "but you're aware with my irrational fear that you may not get _ all  _ that from me. I don't exactly enjoy driving or even being in my own car."

Dragging him forward Levi arched a brow "Says the guy who lost his  _ virginity _ in one."

Huffing Eren crossed his arms "Fucking excuse you. It wasn't  _ my _ idea, it was parked, and I was blitzed out of my mind. I still don't like them.

"How about we see if we can change that a little? The best part of my Camaro is she has all her original parts including, custom black and red interior and the bench seat. It was the last year they put 'em in and while I wanted bucket seats, I don't fuck up a classic. It makes all the better to enjoy ourselves in," Levi winked with a sultry inflection.  As they moved to the Camaro Eren slid in from the passenger side as Levi went in from the driver's side to not have to crawl over anything. Once inside the car Levi's hands were on Eren's waist as he pushed him back carefully. Complying with the action to allow Levi to lay atop him Eren reached up and framed his jaw before kissing him.

"So, you  _ wanna _ \--"

"Have dessert in my car?" Levi asked with a wide grin he could feel against his skin "You fucking  _ bet _ I do." Eren laughed for a moment before the only sound exiting his mouth was a sharp gasp. Teeth around his neck, Levi rolled the tender flesh between his teeth to elicit just the sound he'd hoped for as Eren's chest rose quickly. One hand at his hip keeping him close to his own and the other on Eren's jaw, Levi had him exactly where he wanted him and how. At that moment the only coherence in Eren's brain was " _ more. _ " He slung an arm over Levi's neck and placed two fingers behind the button of his jeans for a momentary tease before the hand wound it's way up to his chest beneath his shirt.

There was a sound rumbling in the back of Levi's throat, something like a purr, as Eren turned his head to allow him to continue mouthing at his skin. Just the slightest rock of Levi's hips sent a roar of heat through his veins. His dull fingernails left their crescent markings in Levi's chest as he clawed to keep himself from making any noise he knew Levi would appreciate too much. A slight whine leaving his lips as hands rushed beneath his shirt was enough to have Levi smirking ear to ear which only served to make Eren want to wipe it off. Deciding to do just that, Eren yanked Levi down to his lips as he arched his back off the seat and pushed his hips up. 

A groan registered as Levi stifled it into their kiss providing Eren a bit of an ego inflation. Sitting up a little Eren pushed the blazer off his shoulders before grabbing the bottom hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head. Levi dropped the shirt to the floorboard and had Eren's off before he could even register it soaring over his head. It wasn't like he truly cared about anything aside from the way Levi's hands rushed over his skin or the way his lips scorched his skin. Desire and carnal lust clawed at him, aching, begging to be unleashed but it wasn't the time for that. Not yet. Instead Eren let Levi do what he wished, only the very moment Levi's mouth marked down his chest Eren's phone began to ring.

"Don't answer it," he panted between kisses.

Eren squirmed beneath him diving a hand into his pocket to glance at the screen "I...have to..." he tried to pause to steady his breath "it's my sister. Hello?"

"Where the fuck are you?" Mikasa asked impatiently from over the phone.

Levi rolled his eyes whispering under his breath "Oh yeah, of  _ course _ you answer."

"Eren are you doing---"

"Someone?" He chuckled "I'm  _ trying _ to. I'm on a date Mika but I figured I'd be returning."

Voice raising to an audible degree from over the phone Mikasa groaned "With the guy from the internet?! Geez, Eren, two dates and you're already....I don't even  _ wanna  _ think about it."

Biting sharply at his throat, Levi's eyes widened and he whispered harshly "What guy from the internet? There's someone  _ else? _ "

Huffing Eren moved the phone and glared "No, it's  _ you  _ stupid!"

He grinned "Oh...my bad..."

Mikasa's voice edged with disgust as she asked "Eren?! Are you out with the fucking  _ gymrat _ ?!"

Eren smirked "I'm out with my mechanic or my _ boyfriend _ , I mean, whatever you wanna call him."

"Seriously?!" She shrieked "You're dating the pipsqueak?!"

"I am," he answered flatly "and I'm trying to enjoy my night out with him. While I've got you on the line, Mika, I'm taking two weeks off. You said I needed a vacation, well, I'm taking one."

"What the hell Eren," she sighed.

"Relax," Eren started kindly "I'm going to get some stuff off my mind. I've been under a lot of stress lately, you know that, so I'm gonna relax for a bit. I've got the books caught up, the taxes, and the payroll. Now, for the love of god, Mika let me get back to enjoying my night that you have  _ near  _ completely ruined."

She grumbled "Fine, Eren, whatever. I'll mark it down. Please be safe and careful. I love you."

"I read you loud and clear," he snickered as he raised a brow to Levi "I love you too, Mika, goodnight."

As she said her goodbye Levi released a low whistle "Whew....she does  **not** like me does she?"

Eren cackled "Ahaha! No. She doesn't. Not a single shred. It's because she knows that attitude of yours is hella fake and you fool people left and right making them fawn over you."

"Including you?" He prodded with a smile.

"Oh," Eren droned " _ especially _ me. She begged me to drool over anyone else, even suggested Marco instead."

"Guess I won't be winning any points there," Levi sighed as he sat back.

Eren shrugged "Maybe not but you could win some with me."

"How would I do that?" Levi asked sarcastically.

"For starters," he began "you could take me home."

Levi's voice softened "Are you sure you  _ wanna  _ go home? I mean, you can stay here if you want. We can finish the bottle of wine in the house and just do whatever comes to mind."

Eren chuckled "Well you should know that for me it's a shower and some sleep since some of us got woken up at 3am."

"Damn," Levi grinned as he moved to kiss him gingerly "guess I screwed myself on that one."

Yanking him back for another kiss, Eren then whispered at his ear "I dunno, I mean, I  _ might _ find a little bit of fun in me. I'm a great  _ multitasker. _ "

"Shower?" He suggested.

"Shower," Eren agreed "provided you're not a water hog."

Levi sighed and rolled his eyes playfully "You're the taller one, Eren, you'll probably hog it all with my luck. C'mon." Eren grabbed his shirt and hopped out of the car as Levi grabbed his own and led the way back to the house. During their walk he found it comfortable as Levi's arm looped around his hip. It was interesting to see him being a little touchy. Once back inside the house Levi placed his blazer atop the washer and his shirt while he grabbed two towels and drug Eren to the shower. At first he assumed Levi would have had his hands crawling over him before he could think but instead it was just the opposite. It was almost as if Levi were scared to touch him at the moment. Which was a far cry from in the car who was asking to fool around in the shower.

Shoving him back against the wall, Eren decided he could very easily make the first move since he looked as though he wanted to but couldn't. He'd seemed surprised to see the dominant side of Eren's personality before he grinned and flipped his back to the wall. It'd been a fantastic start to his vacation to have Levi on his knees for him in the shower, his fingers knotting in that wet silken hair as Levi swallowed him to the hilt. Nothing had been quite that mind blowing in a long time and Levi seemed to only keep surpassing his expectations even if he didn't think he'd get by the first of them. 

By the time they'd gotten out they'd been in the shower for over a half hour but neither found a care as they finished up the wine on the sofa "So.....that was a nice surprise."

With a smug grin Levi ran his thumb over his bottom lip "Well, what can I say, I'm a giving man."

"Or you were trying to earn points," Eren chuckled.

"Did it work?" Levi inquired with a raised brow.

Eren gave a slight roll of his eyes "I think you know the answer to that. Did I get off? Okay then....." he paused before kissing Levi's cheek "but you know you get just as many points for anything non-sexual. Sometimes I just like skin contact."

"Coulda fooled me," Levi snickered "you're the one that started it."

"Only because  _ you  _ wanted to earlier and I wasn't going to leave you without something," Eren had to stop before he shrugged "although I guess you gave me something."

Levi nodded as he swished the bottle of wine "I sure did, but it looks like we're out of wine and it's after midnight. We should head to bed if you're ready."

Almost as if on time Eren yawned "Yeah.....I think I can do that."

Rising from the sofa Levi took off the bottle to discard it and carried their glasses to the sink "Do you want the guest bed....or do you wanna sleep with me?"

Eren arched a brow as he got to his feet "That depends. Why do you want me in  _ your _ bed?"

With a groan Levi walked over and tugged him closer "To sleep. Give me a break Eren, I've not had the company of a lover in my bed for a  _ long _ time, there are some things I miss."

"How long?" Eren asked curiously.

Levi huffed "Almost 6 years."

"So there was one before me but not after jail?" He posed.

"Yeah," Levi nodded "he left after I got pinched and I haven't heard from him since. It's been a long time, Eren, since I've gotten to lay beside anyone in my own bed."

A suspiciously wide, impish grin split Eren's lips "Levi...are you...do you wanna _ snuggle _ ? Is this about cuddling?!"

While Eren began to snicker Levi rolled his eyes "My  _ god _ Eren. You know what? Sleep in the garage."

Eren smiled as he pulled him back to him as he tried to step away "Oh c'mon, maybe I'll sleep in the Chevelle."

Levi's eyes narrowed "Touch that car and I'll cut off your hands."

"Wow," Eren smirked "rude much? You know my hands could do wonderful things for you and you threaten to lop them off....so mean to me."

"You're such an  _ ass _ ," Levi scowled.

"Admit it," Eren teased "you wanna  _ spooooon _ ."

Huffing, Levi averted his eyes "Fine. I wanna leech your body heat and maybe......I'd like arms around me while I sleep that belong to someone I care about...like  _ you. _ "

Reveling in his victory he locked his fingers with Levi and pulled him "Okay. That's all you had to say. Which way?" Levi moved around him with a soft smile and led him down the hallway on the left side of the house where he tugged him through the third door. Upon flipping on the lights Eren allowed himself to examine the room. With a canopy bed in the center and blackout curtains covering the window panes it was clear that Levi liked it dark when he slept. Good thing, he did too, and he thought the rugs on either side of the bed were nice touches too. Breaking his hold Eren went to the opposite side of the bed and stripped down to his boxers before crawling into the satin sheeted bed.

After releasing the hangings from the bed to cover them in a veil of darkness, Levi joined Eren in bed. He scooted closer to Eren, slinging an arm over his midsection and placing his head on Eren's shoulder. Unable to prevent his smile, Eren sighed contentedly and looped his arm around Levi's neck while the other secured itself atop his hip and held him closely, tightly against his chest. Like a puzzle piece, Levi's thin, lithe frame was holding so perfectly against his body as if they'd meant to come together. Eren had placed a kiss to Levi's temple just before closing his eyes.

"You know something?" Levi spoke in a whisper "I actually  _ really  _ enjoy moments like these. I told you before I was starved of intimacy so at moments like this I feel nothing other than elation and like I'm safe. Forgive me, if I ever desire too much from you, I have a constant need for physical contact."

Fingers at the back of his neck, Eren played with his hair as he smiled "I get it, Levi, it's a reinforcement of the idea that I'm here and not leaving you. I can handle clingy, just be nice to me and I'll return the favor for you."

"I'll always treat you well, Eren," Levi said softly "but do me a favor please? Don't tell the crew I'm this ridiculous. Only some of them know I'm a needy, sentimental asshole."

Eren laughed and kissed him "Promise they won't know you were the first one to admit having feelings off our little tryst."

"Hey," he pouted "you did too."

"Yeah," he smiled "but you admitted them  _ first _ . Now go to sleep, Levi. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Eren," he stretched up to plant a kiss on his lips before shifting over and dragging Eren's arm over his hip asking him silently to follow. Obeying Eren turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Levi, feeling his breathing steady as it shallowed. For a while he lay there with his face nuzzled against Levi's neck, able to relax in the smell of his skin and the warmth rolling off him. Everything had changed so quickly but it felt amazing and there he was in Levi's bed, cradling him like the precious object he truly believed him to be. The look behind the curtain had proved to be one of mass discovery, had it been a topic in the world of science he'd have won a Nobel for what he unearthed. Part of him still thought what he was doing was wrong but the rest of him? Well the rest of him believed the one place he was meant to be was where he was in that exact moment.

Come morning Eren opened his eyes and bolted up. For a moment he'd forgotten that he'd stayed over at Levi's the night before. Speaking of Levi, he glanced around only to have been met with the deserted bed. Falling back to the mattress with a huff he rolled over to Levi's side of the bed where he pulled the blankets up high around his collarbones and snuggled in. He could smell the scent of Levi woven deeply into the fibers and that was enough to provide a small comfort and lure him back to sleep. Catching up on his rest seemed to be another good idea since Levi had deprived him of some of it.

Along with other things Levi did to him he assumed that Levi guarded against him being able to do the same. Locks were probably put on everything before he left but when Eren decided to actively get up he opted to lie in bed for just a while longer. His eyes moved slowly from one side of the bed to the other noting that Levi had closed the coverings around him, blocking out the light to a delightful degree, so that he would be able to sleep for longer. It was, however, time to get up as much as he didn't want to so he slid back the hangings and let his feet hit the plush rug in front of the bed. 

Before doing anything else something on the dresser caught his attention. An off-white card rested folded up bringing his attention to it the more he noticed the navy writing across the front of it in cursive. Lifting it up and examining the bottom he smiled, Levi had left him a note.

_ Eren, _

_ Good morning....or afternoon more than likely. When you awake feel free to make yourself at home and if you'd like to snoop through my things, to make it even, just think of the usual suspects. I'm sure you'll have a field day. Now, I'd like you to come stop by the shop. Keys to the shop are evident, bring them with you, and lock up. Car keys are hidden inside a reserve in the back bumper on the right side. Take anything but my Chevelle. Enjoy, Eren, I look forward to seeing you today. _

_ ~Levi Rivaille Ackerman  _

Staring down at the signature he had to double check that his middle name was the first name of the alias he'd been given to pick up parts for him. As if that was a way of hiding though he supposed with Levi it was more of a taunt. Oh well. He really found the part of him snooping to be interesting so he decided to do just that and even the playing field a bit. It wasn't like he was completely devoid of instinct as to what Levi was into. He did have a few ideas but the key would be to already know what to expect from him after the first time they slept together. After all, no one just pulled out their real strange kinks on the first time, that came for the second and third times. 

Getting around the bed, he tied the hangings around the posts of the frame and got to his knees just to see how old school he truly was. Sweeping his arm under the bed he came back with nothing so the next step was the bedside table. Only things he found in those were where he kept his condoms and the heap of lubricant and massage oil....strangely enough even a tube of body paint. He supposed Levi worked with his hands all day fiddling with the most finesse pieces of cars so of course he did probably treat his lovers bodies like cars, searching for the smallest things to make their motor run hot.

The prospect of that was a bit thrilling but he put it on the back burner before grabbing a post-it and scribbling a note securing it to the inside of the drawer reading " _ I like black cherry :) _ " Later he'd get to see how he responded to that one. He moved on then to the closet though with Levi's height he didn't expect to find anything. With the closet coming up empty there was only one more place and it seemed he was giving Eren full reign. A note on the edge of the computer monitor read " _ removed my password this morning....have fun. _ "

With that bold an invitation he did decide to sit down for a moment and peruse his most recent pages. Most of his things were, go figure, parts websites that he couldn't understand if god had given him a better IQ. Skipping through that and going to straight to the bookmarks, he saw one labelled " _ In here, Eren. _ " Levi was leading him directly to everything he was hiding. Why was he making this so easy? Inside the folder were a couple links that had the names replaced by ones Levi had created. When he read " _ Never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down," _ as he scrolled down he wanted to fling Levi's computer out the window. How  _ dare _ he Rickroll him?! How did he even know about that if he was so computer illiterate?

Deciding to push through his momentary disbelief that his boyfriend just fucking memed him, probably Hanji's idea the crazy woman, he clicked on the first link and got quite the surprise. After inputting his birthdate he scrolled down the page and took a moment to see what Levi visited most. His brows raised as he lowered the sound and clicked a video for pure research purposes.....at least that was what he told himself. Chains, rope, spreader bars, and silk.....Levi liked restraints? Great, he liked to be the one _ in _ them. Taking another moment to find another interest he found one that he had to just stare as if he were on a sitcom. Skirts and thigh highs.....for a dude who was bisexual he assumed that what he liked was what he liked in both men and women so he continued and saw why he'd said what he had last night.

Of course. Lace. Levi had a fucking lace fetish. How olden of him. Eren chuckled to himself to see what else lurked in his dirty little mind. Some things were a given, looking at Levi would tell you a thing or two, while the rest of things he discovered would be fun to use later. When he decided enough was enough into his mind, he closed out of the computer and shut it down. He then headed over to the closet and grabbed one of his black zip-up jackets before heading out. It was already 3 in the afternoon and he had some things to get done since according to his phone he was 25 minutes from the shop and about 50 from his own house.

Walking down to the shop he noticed the key was dangling, shining brightly as it caught the Florida sun, from the log chain woven through the handles of the door. Removing it he made quick work of the lock and pocketed the key as Levi asked. Searching around the garage he decided there was one thing he wanted to do. If Jean loved the 350Z so much he wanted to know why. Dropping to his knees, he slid his hand along the bumper until his hand found a recess inside where the keys were in fact hiding. It was certainly a clever hiding spot. No one would ever think the keys would be in the bumper.....it must have been something he picked up either from his boosting days or his smuggling days.

No matter, he unlocked the door and buckled himself in as he adjusted his mirrors. From the seat it was clear Isabel was the last person to drive it as he was nearly eating the steering wheel, so he slid back, placed the keys in the ignition, and very carefully tried to maneuver out of Levi's garage. The prospect of hitting anything terrified him beyond belief but he managed to clear the garage and get out to lock it back up before he typed in his address to the GPS. He had to get home, take a shower, and change before he went anywhere near the garage. Due to the distance it meant that was another 2 hours he got to get used to driving the damn car even if that more frightened him than anything. Perhaps he'd understand after that why everyone wanted to race it.

Even after everything he didn't understand why Jean loved it so much. Then again, everyone else raced the car so it was probably due to the fact the car was touchy on the gas and even more so on the breaks. The car could stop on a dime and accelerate much quicker than he wanted. Once he got home he simply changed into a pair of thin sweats and an emerald v-neck after a shower. He grabbed a bottle of water, placed it in the cup holder, unopened, and made the drive out to the garage. Unfortunately driving through rush hour traffic slowed him down and made him a little more wary of just how many people lived in Tampa. The last thing he wanted or needed was a scratch on that car.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! I hope you're ready for some cute things and for the chapter after this. This chapter is merely the lead in. Chapter 19 is where all things are revealed and plot wise shit is gonna go DOWN. Be prepared for Thursday and enjoy this little cute bit.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

When he finally arrived to the shop it was a little before 6 meaning the shop was still open for business. Upon pulling into the parking lot and parking the car he could clearly make out a couple of expressions on some faces giving him a good laugh. The doors of the garage were lifted so the moment he got out after locking the doors he could see Eld's face grinning ear to ear as if he'd done a good job and Hanji was either silently saying he was in trouble with that smirk or the second he walked in she was going to constrict around him like a python. Both prospects were equally unpleasant. Jean, however, looked like a goldfish out of water the way he was gaping without uttering a single word. Isabel was snickering to herself as she was propped up on a sawhorse beside Farlan who grinned like an idiot.

As he walked in scanning the area looking for Levi Gunther pointed a finger from behind a hood to the car in the center of the garage. Taking it as the fact Levi was probably underneath it on the lime green creeper sticking out from the car Eren carefully approached it. He could hear the sound of him working under it so he raised a finger to his lips as he looked around before he kicked the end of the creeper and then heard metal clang to the floor and something bang against the car frame.

" **You sonovabitch!** " Levi shouted "I'm gonna fucking kill you Far---" As Levi pushed out from under the car losing his words Eren was unable to restrain his laughter. Levi's face was striped with thin streaks of grease and his fingers were absolutely black with what looked like brake dust. His attire was completely coated in a various scattering of dirt and stains that he wasn't even going to guess at. Steely eyes had narrowed then, before he sighed with a grin, and tugged Eren forward, placing a greasy, grimy hand at his cheek and the other at his waist. Before he could say anything he registered the feeling of Levi's lips over his own. If he surprised Levi he could at least say he'd paid him back with the kiss and the fact his tongue brushed his lip. Eren shrugged and gave into the demand for only a second before breaking it and kissing him delicately.

Eren grimaced as Levi slid his hand back against his skin feeling it leave a mark on his skin "Eww, you goddamn grease monkey!" As he wiped his chin against the sleeve of his hoodie he noticed Levi cackling "Jokes on you it's _your_ hoodie."

"Oh _real_ nice," Levi groaned "but at least one of us knows how to it get out of clothes. Any particular reason you chose the Z?"

"Well," Eren paused as he looked to Jean "I wanted to see _that_ face. I also wanted to know what was with the hype, thinking maybe if I drove it I'd understand."

Levi looked back to see Jean pouting, huffing as he folded his arms over his chest "Haha, it's a normal look for him kinda like what happens when you smack a puppy on the nose. Did you understand it any after driving it for a couple hours?"

Eren shook his head "Nope. I said it once and I'll say it again. I don't think that I'll ever understand."

"And I'll never understand how it took you two _this_ long to hook up," Hanji snickered from the back "especially since Levi's wanted in your pants since you started working at the gym."

Raising a brow Eren grinned "Oh? Has he? I wasn't aware of that though I guess we're even in that aspect. For the record we didn't hook up last night."

"Yeah," Jean grumbled "sure. It escalated from your bang buddy deal, I'm guessing?"

Eren stepped up to Jean grinned "Awww, c'mon Jean, I heard you told him he was an oblivious asshole. I know you _liiiikkkeeee meeeee._ "

Thrusting his nose up, Jean huffed "No idea what you're talking about, Eren."

" _Right there_ !" Isabel screeched "You used to only call him Jaeger. It's only 'cause you want in Gallinule's pants and Eren knows him so you're hoping for a _favor_ , huh? Don't worry," Isabel flung herself around Eren "I like you. That's enough."

Eren chuckled and hugged her in return "Thanks, Is.....although it's kinda hard to take in."

"Oh whatever," Levi groaned " _I_ like you and that should be enough."

After dragging him into another kiss Eren smiled "Mmm, what now? Since your shop knows we're together you can't exactly boss me around the same way."

"I _can't_?" Levi asked sarcastically "Because I seem to remember being your boss and there are books you and Farlan can go over while he's here."

Eren pushed a finger into his chest "I don't think so. I'm not above telling everyone in here what was on your computer and how much the chances of it _decrease_ with each thing you do that even remotely seems condescending."

" _Ouuuccchhh,_ " Eld hissed "got you by the _balls_ , don't he boss?"

"And I can do the same," Levi grinned.

Leaning into his ear Eren clicked his teeth "Not really because if you air mine I'll never let you do _any_ of it to me. **Ever.** Remember what I said last night about being nice?"

Backing up Eren grinned victoriously and Levi jerked him back by the wrist, kissing him "I remember. Would you _please_ go do your job, Eren?"

"Of course, but first, anyone want any food? Because I'm starving and I want pizza," Eren asked with a smile. Once everyone was clamoring to get to Eren he laughed and Levi couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was nice how easily he'd integrated himself into the crew, into his family. While Eren ordered the pizza Levi went back to working on the car and waited. Turning, Eren noticed Levi already back to work so while he waited on the pizzas they ordered he carted Farlan back to the office. Just before he noticed him bend to hug Is and that was when he finally noticed the way he looked at her. How he'd ever missed it he didn't know. Now it all seemed so obvious.

He couldn't believe that he'd missed something so plainly obvious but then again he was too busy looking elsewhere. For the longest while he'd always found his eyes drawn to Levi but now that he was his it was increasingly harder to let them wander. Comparing working with Farlan staring down at the books versus with Levi, the clear winner was only what his goal was. If he wanted to actually get some work done then it would be best that he did work with Farlan but if he wanted to work and fool around then working with Levi was his plan. It wasn't like he got to pick unfortunately so he had to settle with actually doing his job and eating pizza while doing it.

A few hours passed as he worked with Farlan and the crew worked on making the Camaro at her best and they even brought in the Z as backup since Farlan and Isabel would be driving it to Texas. Isabel and Farlan cut out early and so that left Eren without any help to which Levi simply tossed him the keys to the Z. He was given express permission to drive the Z all week so long as he came by to work on the books. If he got to see Levi and steal him for random pieces throughout the day then he could definitely start enjoying the work day. He stared at numbers all day during his normal work day but this came with bonuses so he thanked Levi, gave him a quick kiss and headed home.

His night ended with a text from Levi announcing that he found his note. Eren snickered and asked how he found it to which Levi didn't respond. Unfortunately he'd fallen asleep before he'd received the response. He'd hoped to screw with a bit but after his day he supposed he was allowed to do that at work. Calling it work in his head made him snicker a bit but nonetheless the next morning he got up around 11 and prepared for his day. It wasn't much longer before he dressed in a pair of jeans, a simple band t-shirt, and made it out the front door, two cups of coffee in hand one for himself and one for Levi if he so wanted it.

Upon getting into the shop he pushed straight past the back door and walked into the garage where he saw Levi sweating over the open cavity of a car. Reaching his hand inside he was doing something to the engine but he didn't really care as he approached him. Sitting the coffee at the top of the tool box, he looped his fingers behind the zipper on his jumpsuit as it pooled at his hips and yanked him forward. Kissing him quickly he released him and pointed to the coffee without so much as a word before he walked back to the office. He'd caught a few bewildered expressions but none were better than the wicked grin on Levi's face. He could tell, even if he never said it, that he enjoyed it.

Levi liked constant physical contact? Good. He'd give him what he asked for and more so long as he was good to him. While he took to the books he made to ensure he only actively construed to the legal pieces of the outfit. The time for cooking came later, after hours, so for now it was to accurately work on the books and slide in the other parts later. He considered it to be a much better practice than trying to do it all at one time. At least when he cooked it he could decide to have Levi with him and screw around instead.....he was rather looking forward to it.

Around 3pm he stepped out to see most of the mechanics leaving for break so he walked up to Levi who was still working "You're gonna work yourself to death."

Glancing over to him Levi arched a brow "Pot meet kettle."

Huffing Eren tugged him away "Oh _c'mon._ The car isn't going anywhere, Levi, and besides I think we can call in some Chinese and take a break."

Jean shouted from behind him "Wow, someone tearing Levi away from a car?! Give you a _medal,_ Eren, but seriously Levi you should listen to him. I'll hoist the engine outta that bitch and haul 'er off for painting while you do that. 2 birds, a single stone, and all that?"

Pointing his glare towards Jean Levi shook his head "And who are _you_ to tell me who I should listen to?"

Eren hummed "Hmm, he’s a very smart friend. Remind me to thank you with some information on our favorite bird later, Jean."

"I'll hold you to that," Jean beamed "now go give him a break.....a _long_ one preferably."

"To more than just you," Eren smirked as he shuffled off to Levi's office "if you're coming Levi, you better _hurry_."

Not one to have to be told more than once Levi wiped his hands and turned to Jean "Be careful or it's your ass _and_ your pay." Jean held his hands in front of his chest as Levi headed off down the hall to see Eren slipping into his office curling a beckoning finger. Once past the threshold of the close quartered office he shut the door behind him and looked to Eren "You remember that thing I said once about focusing and keeping my head out of the clouds?"

Eren rolled his eyes "Are you telling me that you didn't get the _least_ bit excited this morning when I kissed you and brought you coffee as a good morning?"

Unable to refute that he sighed "I didn't say that. I just don't normally take breaks for longer than a minute or two and I'm sweaty, greasy, grungy---"

Slinking up to him Eren's hands went to his hips as he leaned down to nip at his earlobe "I work at a gym, Levi, I _like_ sweaty and grungy. It's sexy."

Clearing his throat as he felt the atmosphere heat, Levi stiffened "Erm...well, yeah, but we shouldn't get _too_ distracted."

"We won't," Eren offered "I actually did already order Chinese food and so until it gets here we can enjoy a little time to ourselves." Before Levi could object to his affections Eren kissed him and enjoyed the feeling of the heat wafting in thick wisps off Levi's skin. He'd been working all day beneath cars doing manual labor, he was sweating and Eren had to fight the idea of how much he liked it. Levi's hands avoided touching his skin for the most part until Eren pushed him by nibbling at his lip. After he'd teased him, pushing a button he shouldn't have, Levi pushed him back to the desk and knotted a fist into his hair. Yanking back to force Eren to reveal more of his throat he bit him forcefully until he released a sub-human noise.

Levi backed up and shook his head "You shouldn't have left me that note yesterday."

Eren panted "Why?"

"Because now my sheets have cherry oil on them," he grinned deviously.

"That's just rude, you're going to use it all before you get a _better_ chance to use it----"

"I can buy more," Levi interrupted "but it looks like Chinese has rang. I'll go grab it." While they heard the doorbell from outside for most delivery services, including those of restaurant origin, Eren fanned his t-shirt realizing it'd gotten a bit stuffy inside the office. Turning on the fan, he pushed the stools out of the way, and plopped down in the floor with his back against the cinderblock wall. As he enjoyed the light breeze flowing through the room, on it, soon came the scent of wontons and chow mein noodles. He straightened up a bit as Levi came back in with their food and even went as far as to peck him on the cheek when he joined him at his side.

Sure, the kiss was nice but what was better was sitting shoulder to shoulder with Levi enjoying take out. When Levi grabbed a pair of chopsticks and raised some of his lo mein noodles Eren snickered and reached over with his own to steal them before the reached his mouth. It was strange but fun as the two laughed and continued trying to steal one another's food before they could eat it. The only line was drawn when Levi tore a corner off his wonton and Eren stiffened announcing the fact they were sacred and he'd break every bone in his hand if he ever touched a wonton of his again, also that it applied to crab rangoons as well.

Levi just smiled and instead bit the corner and Eren huffed as he split the wonton with him. In that moment he was serene. He was laughing and enjoying himself with Levi even if he wasn't really doing anything at all. Before their break was over Eren showed Levi the work he'd been doing and told him his idea of going about the books. With his approval he'd continue with his roll and leave him to go back to getting dirty. Before he shuffled out he thanked him for the food and kissed him softly leaving him to continue with his work. Fortunately only 2 and a half hours had to pass with him continuing the books before he was able to jump out and converse with everyone.

Once the shop closed down he headed out to see Jean who he'd promised some information about Marco. Just as he walked out it seemed Levi had called a little crew meeting so he sat back and watched him assume his commanding, authoritative role. He only informed them of what he already knew and that was that next week he was going to Houston so all work would have to be on them and it would have to be beyond spotless. All of them seemed genuinely okay with idea of taking on more work but he surmised that was because they'd only be gone for a few days....or maybe Is and Farlan would be. He'd hoped they could stay an extra day and really enjoy themselves before their hectic schedules delivered them a swift kick in the ass.

With that in mind he made sure to remind himself to be thankful for his 2 weeks off and scampered over to Jean. He was leaning back against his work space waiting for him almost. His toothy grin gleamed beneath the lighting and he kicked out his seat towards Eren.

Gladly taking it Eren sat down and waved a hand "What do you wanna know?"

"For starters, his age?" Jean asked apprehensively as he jumped up on the bench.

"He's 26," Eren replied "and I can tell you the reason behind his moniker. If you really wanna impress him you need to have something to bring up."

Interjecting from behind Hanji cackled "Ahaha! Good because he'll need it. They gotta date coming up soon, right there Jeanbo?"

Jean sent the bespectacled woman a fierce glare "Let off it already, you bat!"

Snickering Eren had to know "How in the _hell_ did you manage that one?"

"I raced him," he answered proudly.

"But you didn't _wiiiinnnn,_ " Hanji lulled from behind them before she ducked as Jean chucked a pencil towards her. When Eren raised his brows and cocked his head to the side in evident confusion she clarified "Well, he raced Marco and Jean smoked him. Left him a good bit back in that GTR of his. Only there was one problem and it was that he let him win. It's more than a slap in the face to win by default like that so Jean called him on it and demanded to him that he race him again. Even offered pinks on it."

Eren sighed "Marco wouldn't take another man's car."

"And that was what _he_ said," Jean pouted "so he said he'd make it up to me for injuring my pride. He'd give me something but it couldn't be anything sexual so I simply asked for a date so he could get to know me and not just what he sees on the outside."

With a grin Eren looked over to Levi "Yeah.....I know a thing or two about someone's prickly outer shell being a barrier." Turning back to Jean he asked "So what all do you wanna know about him?"

"Everything you know," Jean told him flatly.

"Okay," Eren began "let's start with something easy. Marco got picked on a lot because not how he looked persae....but because what he _is._ I met Marco a long time ago and then I knew he wasn't exactly like you and me. Marco grew up, spent most his educational youth, in a reservation on the skirts of the Everglades. Boy can murder a gator like no one I've ever seen because his father taught him how. I've been out with them on a boat and watched him almost break a blade in one's skull, then we fried it, and ate it. Every Sunday he goes to have dinner with his parents and his sister on the reservation. He was a pretty naive kid until he grew up out here but there are still things he refuses to deal with."

Jean interrupted as his curiosity got the better of him "I'm sorry... _reservation_?"

"Marco's Seminole dipshit," Levi called from the car.

Eren grinned "Yup. You never thought that was _just_ a tan right? Anyhow, the tattoo on his arm is a Seminole legend called a Stikini. Really horrific fucking tale to scare kids into being good. He loves his history, his folklore, and the darker the better. He used the purple gallinule duck as the basis of his moniker because he found the mask first and it reminded him of how he always wanted one when he was little. Spent hours chasing them down but the one _big_ thing you have against you here is that, remember when I said he hates people like you, I wasn't talking about you _specifically_ more like your last name. It's easy to tell you have nothing to do with them but your family is part of who is responsible for draining the glades. You really think harming his home, the nature that he loves and grew up in, is _helping_ matters? Denounce your ties and I think he'll have a little better understanding."

"Thanks," Jean replied, clapping him on the back as he hopped down "and what I said last time, I think you're making yourself a mark up there with Levi so ask him what happened if you ever get curious." Eren just gave a nod of his head while Jean went off to go paint presumably. He sat back with Isabel and Farlan having a laugh and hearing some stories about how Levi wasn't always such a skilled racer or mechanic. From putting a car in neutral at a starting line, revving the engine so much he popped a belt, dropping mufflers on his toes, getting his hands stuck in engines, and to even locking himself out of plenty a car it was clear that they had some fun times even through everything. Levi would often turn back to see them laughing and Eren loved hearing Isabel laugh, she had a hilarious, boisterous laugh that just didn't seem to fit her tiny frame. Somehow, with everything he knew about himself and them, being in that garage provided an atmosphere he had previously only experienced at the gym.

Having a place to fit in even among outcasts was a pretty interesting feeling. Levi's family was in a way becoming his own and in the week he spent with them it only seemed to concrete. Hanji shared her coconut water, Eld and Gunther told him about some car parts and what they did to help performance just in case something happened while he drove the Z, Jean relaxed with him on break when Levi couldn't and they talked about everything from stuff at the gym to his upcoming date and Jean's habit of blowing up engines. Isabel and Farlan shared snacks with him as they sat behind the front desk and Farlan even had Isabel teach him the computer system so that he could work the front desk if he wanted to.

Overall his week at the shop had been one hell of an experience. He'd certainly come to love being there and once Reiner stopped in he'd given him a little wave and ducked back into the offices. The final day approached so he sent Mikasa a text saying he was leaving in the morning and he loved her, he'd message when he arrived, and then it was time to hand the Z's keys over to Farlan. Levi had driven him home that night and though he truly wanted to offer him half of his bed both of them needed their sleep since 7am often came quickly. Upon his departure Levi had kissed his cheek and told him that " _anytime spent with you is both and blessing and a curse_." He'd laughed and just told him to get some protective hexes for the car then, because a 14.5 hour drive was bound to be exactly that.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome welcome! I hope you all will enjoy this day's updates! Happy Birthday to our adorable little angry sass machine, Eren Bae-jer. In honor of this I will be posting a double update. Also for the record, I don't always this dude the bad guy but he makes a very bad guy xD
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Come 6:30am he'd showered, had his things packed and was only waiting on Levi's arrival. Coffee for the both of them had been made and the thought of being in the car and interstate driving was enough to already make him nauseous. Deciding to take some his medication to calm himself when the speed limit hit 65, knowing Levi would be pushing 9 over, he slipped the bottle into his shorts pocket. It wasn't much longer that he waited until the tell tale sign of Levi's arrival was heard in the drive. There wasn't even a need for anything else, he simply grabbed the tumblers and stepped outside. 

Levi already had the trunk popped open so he tossed in his bags and rounded the car to slide in when Levi noticed his cups "I know you aren't bringing that in my baby."

Eren rolled his eyes and slid into the car as he drank his coffee "It's almost 6am, I'm tired, and I need coffee. I brought you some too so drink it or I will."

"You don't like black coffee," Levi retorted snidely as he got into the car.

"I'm a college kid," he replied "I fucking  _ lived _ on black coffee during exam crunch. I'll tell you what if it spills you can take it out on me however you'd like."

"Deal," he deadpanned. "If you're so tired you could get some sleep."

He shook his head "No, it's alright. I'm used to this schedule. This week just threw me off it for a little while."

Levi smiled and placed a hand at his thigh casually "Well when you're used to burning both ends of that candle when you can finally take a break it messes with you. You gotta learn to take it easy on yourself."

Eren furrowed his brows "Hi, Pot, Kettle speaking."

With a huff he shrugged "I know, I know, but that's because I have deadlines for my shit. You can hold off on number crunching for a few days. This vacation is gonna be good for you. It already got you on better terms with my crew than I think I am."

It was his turn to laugh a bit "Haha, they just think me dating you is hilarious. Isabel said she loves me and if you end things with me on a bad note, I get her in the split. Farlan goes where she goes too."

" _ Damn, _ " Levi chuckled playfully "you're taking my family. That's just rude. Gonna take, Mitzy, the swamp cat, too?"

"Maybe," Eren grinned as he placed his hand in Levi's "she probably listens better."

"Rude," Levi glared "but seriously, Eren, get some sleep. I'll keep it at 60 until you're out." Eren raised their conjoined hands, kissing the back of Levi's hand as a subtle gesture of appreciation. He, honestly, was glad that he could get a little more sleep so he settled for just leaning against the car door and closing his eyes. Levi was driving carefully with the radio on low until he was sure, from Eren's snoring, that Eren was asleep. At the point of him being deep in sleep he pushed the car to 84 trying to get as much of the drive done as possible while Eren slept. He knew that he probably wasn't going to sleep for very long seeing as how he wasn't in the most comfortable position. Why he didn't just opt to lay in the backseat he had no clue.

Four hours had passed since Eren had fallen asleep and he was starting to feel a bit peckish. At the next exit he woke Eren and told him to pick left or right and a number. Due to his picking left and his pushing the number off to Levi, they'd eat at whatever restaurant was the 3rd on the left side of the road. It always seemed to prevent squabble over choices so it was a rather handy method although he soon came to realize that Eren didn't much care. After they ate Levi looked over to him with a yawn and began to wonder something that might be useful.

"Hey, Eren," he called "can you drive a stick shift?"

Eren's features scrunched "Uh,  _ kinda _ ? I've only driven a few."

Levi paused before sighing, not liking the idea of Eren grinding the gears or giving them both whiplash "Okay, can you handle manual steering? If you let that wheel go she's going, power steering is  **no** option here."

"Once again," he huffed, clearly understanding where the conversation was headed "kinda. I've only ever really had my Civic. It's why I don't wanna get rid of it."

"Sentimental value, I get it," Levi chuckled "but would you be up for driving the Camaro while I sleep for a couple hours? I keep yawning."

Turquoise eyes narrowed at him "How much sleep did you get last night?"

Not liking the question, but knowing he had to answer, Levi shrugged "Around an hour or two. I had to work on the cars last night so don't  _ even _ look at me like that."

"Fine," Eren seethed "but you're gonna have to show me." Trusting someone else behind the wheel of the Camaro was a momentous leap for Levi in his trust range. No one got to even look too hard at it yet he was going to let Eren drive it with so much as the fact he can only " _ kinda _ " handle it. He rounded the hood of the car and climbed into the passenger side tossing Eren the keys as he went with a slight nervous knot forming in his stomach. Having to teach Eren how to drive his car was one of the most trying things he'd had to do in a long time and that including having to fix Eren's piece of scrap metal. Mainly Eren's issue with shifting and his foot on the clutch slipping off too early was the problem he needed to fix. By the grace of some gods in an unknown pantheon he was able to at least get it down decently to a point where he felt comfortable going to sleep.

It had been a hard sleep for Levi. Waking up every half hour just to make sure Eren wasn't about to kill them both, or more importantly his car, Levi was remaining far more tired than he believed he should have. After leaving the car with Eren for 4.5 hours he believed that he could personally handle the rest of the way. Stopping to refill the tank, they switched out but first, Eren had a singular request that Levi had to approve. Sending Jean a snapchat of him behind the wheel was enough to give them both a good laugh. He knew when they got back home he'd never hear the end of that kid's mouth but he kept wanting to paint it and no one should ever disrespect a classic by painting it outside it's year or registered color.

Jean had all but pouted when he received the photo, screaming " _ WHHHAAA??!! _ " at Eren while texting " _ I hate you so much you evil little hobgoblin, _ " to Levi. Both sat back and had a good, solid laugh. He liked Jean, Jean was a good kid but sometimes he just overreacted in the best of ways that made it far too hard to pass up picking on him. Levi was more than happy that Eren felt the same way. At first he assumed to two would clash antlers but after the first round it seemed they managed to get along rather fine.

Sliding over Eren cast his eyes to Levi "So....what's his story anyway? Jean's. He told me to ask if I ever got curious."

Taking his eyes from the road for a moment he looked over to Eren "Did he? Well, he was a minor when I found him not like I knew it at the time though. He was about 17 with a brain full of ideas, a foot of lead, and the common sense of a fucking  _ salamander _ ."

"Ouch," Eren chuckled.

"He didn't really know what he was doing when it came to racing," Levi recalled as he pictured younger Jean in his Supra burning it out for the first time "he killed the Supra twice. Jean was a runaway, quite like me, the only difference was his parents gave a shit about him and wanted him back. I'm a little harder on him than anyone else because I taught him what he knows and he chose this life, he didn't just fall into it. Turns out it was his parents trying to bring him home that solidified the idea in his head. With his mother being the only one who actually gave a shit, and his shitty father not even really caring, he decided it was best to get away from them. He always wanted to be a painter and he's good for a reason. I paid for him to get his education."

Eren's lip curled in a wide smile "Awwwww, he's like your pupil in a way! Why did he tell me he owed you his life?"

"Not quite but maybe in _some_ ways," Levi answered as he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly "and that was because my pop for street racing. I took it for  _ him _ . We were both running and I let them get me so he could get back. I take care of my crew, Eren, however I can, and since I lead this outfit I went down for it. While I was in jail he went back to school himself and got another piece of his certification. He can be an actual mechanic if he really wanted, be like Eld and Gunther, but he prefers painting so I let him do what he's best at."

After a moment Eren nodded "I get it. A captain goes down with the ship. Still, it's amazing of you to do, and I'm glad things have worked out for him. What about Eld, Gunther, and Hanji?"

Levi gave him a laugh "Hahaha, Hanji was an old friend and her job isn't even at the shop which is why she's only there on certain days. She actually works for Nissan testing the aerodynamics for their vehicles. Eld and Gunther were guys I went to school with. Each have known me a very long time and when the shop needed some people I called them up to personally invite them. They jumped at it like I knew they would."

"So the street rat  _ did _ go to school?" Eren posed with a hint of interest.

"Yeah, well, kinda," Levi grinned as he looked over "I dropped out of high school so I got my G.E.D while in prison the first time and worked my way through my mechanic certification while I was in prison the second time. Although I didn't get to finish most of it in the shop since---"

"Beating the shit outta that guy?" Eren interrupted with a snicker.

Levi grumbled "Yes. I went back when I got out and that was when Is and Farlan offered me my spot as head mechanic." While he was thinking about it he reached over and popped the glove department "Damn....must have left the GPS at home. I'll have to use my phone."

Eren shook his head as he saw the silver gleam of what else lied inside "No, uh, that's okay I'll use mine." 

"Alright," Levi spoke a bit apprehensively noting Eren's behavior "it's just to get us to the hotel." After giving him the information Eren typed in the address and began to wonder back to what Marco had said. In his dash there was in fact a pistol, shining brightly, looking as though it'd hardly ever been touched. It was strange to see it but even stranger to know he'd been in the car so many times without having remembered it until that moment. With luck they didn't have to be in the car for very long so once they arrived at the hotel Eren did as promised and sent out a quick message to Mikasa noting that he'd arrived. Somehow they'd managed to shave a couple hours off their arrival time and got into their hotel room by 8:30pm. 

He knew that Levi was dead tired and he could still relax for a little bit so they just decided to order room service and sit snuggled together on the sofa watching Psych until time to go to bed. It was around midnight when Levi finally crashed so he decided that 6 hours was more than enough time to sleep until they had to be up again. Levi had told him of their appointment that they could not be a fraction of a second late to. Apparently the host of the races was bringing together all the racers who'd made it so far and was going to reveal to them what exactly they were driving to Texas for. What really concerned him in all of it was the fact that even to check into the hotel Levi was using his alias, his pseudonym, not his true name.

As he started to drift in and out of consciousness he began to wonder if there was indeed something far more sinister afoot here. The idea of some sketchy meeting at a manor with guards and invitation only passes, his alias, the gun in the dash, and the fact he'd been rather hush-hush about the whole thing just didn't sit entirely too right to him. He supposed in the morning everything would be exposed and he'd know about why he was doing everything he was. Levi's motives would soon have light shed on them bringing them from out of the shadows in which he tried to hide them. Whether or not being completely looped into all the madness was a good thing or not, he'd only know by 8am.

Coming from somewhere at the back of the room he heard a loud thud of something metal dropping to the tile flooring. Turning over, he noticed there was a significant lack of a body where one had laid with him previously. Levi was up before his alarm even set off meaning he hadn't have slept very long at all. A man like Levi being on pins and needles only served to give him another reason to antsy. If he needed another reason it came when he begrudgingly crawled out of bed and noticed Levi at the vanity with a thick, plush towel and what he knew to be pieces of his pistol laid out atop it. He didn't say a thing only continued to clean it as Eren breezed by noticing a word crudely etched into the barrel.

Karma; it was a strange thing to have carved so hastily, almost violently, into the silver slide of his pistol. While he showered it connected in his brain that it related quite heavily to Levi's tattoo. " _ Karma's going to come collect your debt _ ." Why would Levi have named a pistol Karma for any other reason than what he was accused of? Part of Eren had guessed with his attitude when it was brought up that he was in fact dating a murderer, now it was basically solidified. It wasn't as if it bothered him too much, as far as he knew those bastards deserved it, but what did bother him was knowing what exactly Levi was capable of. Squeezing a trigger wasn't exactly rocket science but these men had disappeared to never be seen nor heard from again. How exactly had he managed that?

When he got out of the shower he noticed Levi smoothing over the pistol before slipping it into the back of his sweats. Trusting that a guy who held street races was probably not the most morally upstanding citizen he felt a little safer knowing it was there. Levi was dressed rather strangely though and it threw him. It reminded him of the night he'd shown up with vodka on his doorstep. Beneath his hoodie he was wearing no shirt, clearly dressing for comfort, and before he could ask about Levi simply stated he should dress comfortably and in a manner that he could keep his head down. With each passing moment he decided he was liking this trip less and less.

After they had finished getting ready, Eren in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, the two walked outside to be met with Isabel and Farlan dressed in fairly similar fashion. Whatever was going on here was more than originally anticipated. The two followed closely behind them as Levi lead the way keeping deathly silent the entire way there. Eren was confused but more than anything else he was concerned. Before they came upon the massive compound out in the middle of fucking nowhere land, Levi slid the gun in the dash only confusing him more. He'd assumed he was going to bring it with him but the very moment he flashed the ticket at a camera and pointed to the Z behind them he knew that security here probably wasn't going to allow that.

Being right about security, everyone was searched when they had to exit the cars. After the search they were instructed to follow the path, park in line, and stand to the left of the vehicles. Levi did as told and stopped at the top of the luxurious drive lined in vivid flowers and shrubs while Isabel pulled the car in at his side. When they got out Eren turned to examine the area they were in. Having driven a half an hour outside the city he hadn't expected the sights. The house behind them was immaculate to say the least with 15 different rooms, an olympic sized pool in the back, and a glass overhang off the cliff with a simply stunning view of the city's skyline. Whoever lived there could certainly afford to pay Marco for all these races and, from the looks of it, a whole lot more.

Levi lifted his hood over his face and slid on his mirrored aviators as he glanced around at the other racers already having lined up. They had been the last to arrive it seemed as men began to come out to greet the other 7 racers, their crews, and themselves. Hulking men with broad shoulders and barrel chests stood dressed in black suits to the side of a man wearing a taupe suit with a white, open undershirt who looked to be past 6 foot by more than a few inches. Dirty blonde hair reaching just past his ears with a darker beard sprawling over his jawline and a mustache, this man gave off an aura of nonchalance, not leadership. His face remained rather stoic as he waved a hand dismissing the guards at his side while his other securely held a laptop at his side.

Raising his voice the man addressed the people he'd gathered "Welcome, everyone to the first part of the race ahead. You're all here because you've proven yourselves to be the best 8 racers across the states. You may be wondering why I've gathered you. Simple. It's been my  _ job  _ to recruit you."

A man at the top of the line called "And who do you work for?"

"That's  **none** of your business as it currently sits," he responded without so much as a shift in attention "but the thing that is, is this, he needed the best. That's what he asked for and what I'm delivering. Ahead of you lies a very long,  _ treacherous _ race. You will be racing the people around you on a selected course to Anacortes, Washington. No roads are shut down so you're on your own. Once you arrive you will come to an address, meet a boat, and continue to the step. There is only one little thing: there's only  _ one _ boat. The first racer there wins and gets to advance to more than the $350,000 prize awaiting you. This is all I can tell you until you agree. Who's in?" Glancing around Eren watched as everyone began to raise their hands. It sounded great on one hand but on the other it sounded too good to be true. Just as that thought entered his mind the gate behind them locked and armed guards were walking to the exits. 

The man pulled open the laptop and grinned widely "Fantastic, then, from this moment none of you are **not** allowed to leave until we've finished conducting our business." He fiddled around with some buttons before a blue screen came up on the laptop. A shrill, screech sounded before it evened and he watched as Levi's fist clenched at his side. Levi's posture went absolutely rigid the moment a voice sounded from the computer.

"Welcome to my race ladies and gentleman," the disembodied voice greeted from the screen. "You've heard the first of the terms.....well here come the second. I asked you to bring along a selection of your crew with you so that I can  _ pick  _ one of them. Drivers, I've had you investigated from parking tickets to unpaid child support. I know who each of you are and what your pressure points are. I fully intend to  _ push  _ them." Eren looked around as the man began to place silver bracelets around the wrists of crew members the man on the computer instructed him to. Whatever this was he didn't like it. Not in the least. Levi looked as though he was going to be sick and Farlan dragged him to his side placing him between himself and Isabel. Suddenly Isabel was hanging off him as if she were flirting with him. He didn't understand....at least until they were approached by the man behind the screen and his lacky.

Levi had his head down until the voice from the screen addressed him "You think you're so careful throwing around that alias---"

Hood thrown back and sunglasses removed Levi's eyes raged with something he'd never seen as he spat venomously "Careful?  **No.** I  _ wanted  _ you to see. I told you that I'd  **never** hide from you but it looks like you're so fucking scared of what's coming to you that you can't even greet us in person. Where did your charisma go? That pride you valued so much over everything else, huh?" Before Eren could try to make sense of everything going on there was a clack and a silver cuff secured around his wrist. Screaming out in pain as he felt what seemed like scalding hooks shoved into his skin, Eren's breath vacated his lungs in a pained, strangled shriek. When he looked up to the beanstalk lackey his cruel eyes only reflected vacancy and an unknown intent.....along with what looked like a trace of joy. Eren's blood began to run cold in his veins.

The voice from the laptop chuckled darkly "Haha, oh Levi, you think you're  _ so  _ clever but you were  **never** smarter than me."

"Not this time," Levi seethed "I  **will** win."

"Oh no. I certainly think  **not** . For starters you have  _ no  _ idea where I am, Levi, but for second why don't I work it out for you? You placed this kid, Eren I do believe is his name, between Farlan and Isabel. Good to see you both again, you're looking so well, anyhow you wanted to make me believe by having Isabel hanging all over him and looking to him with those puppy eyes that he was  _ her  _ fix. I know better. Farlan has always had his sights on Isabel's fire and he's had it for the last few years. It only meant that for you to go through the trouble of hiding him, he's  _ your _ boy. How far you have fallen, little angel. You could have had it so much better, you know, you could have had it  _ all _ but you refused me. Now," his voice rose as he addressed everyone gathered "you'll  _ all _ really want to pay attention to this. Mike, darling, if you would please tell them what they've won."

Mike, his obvious lackey and perhaps more, cleared his throat "Your companions have been equipped with a GPS tracking device. This companion must  **never** leave your side. Not only is this a tracing device for us to see your progress but it's also an incendiary device." At those words Eren froze. He had a goddamn bomb strapped to his wrist?! What in the  _ hell _ was going on? 

As the voice on the computer continued Isabel's grip tightened on his hand "Just like old times, hmm, Levi? This device is tamper proof. Inside it lies a small glass container with a pin. If the pin breaks the glass the nitroglycerin inside will leak out. Unfortunately in the clasp that connects the two pieces of metal there is a small piece of flint and a sharp little chip. If you try to pull it apart you'll not only trigger the pin to break the glass but the chip will scrape the flint and cause a small spark that will be just enough to ignite the nitroglycerin inside it blowing everything around it to  _ bits _ . It's waterproof so you can do everything while you wear it. Along with this present you will each be gifted a special GPS system that will show everyone your positions on the screen along with where hotel rooms are. I've paid for rooms in certain hotels along the preset route but they can only be used once, do take care to rest, you'll  _ need _ it. When a room is used it will disappear from the screen. I do feel the need to warn you, as well, if you go more than 5 miles off route the bracelet will be remotely detonated. If you go more than a mile away from your partner, same thing. Call the authorities or try to get clever and we'll blow it."

Someone from further up the line asked "And what happens if we go to the cops after the race is over?"

"You won't _ live _ to see the end of the race," Mike answered as he distributed the navigation systems  "unless you win that is. Now, you're free to begin the race at anytime, but do remember, just because you delay doesn't mean your competitors will."

The voice over the computer gave one last message "Good luck everyone......and Levi, I'll be waiting for that day to come but it will  **not** be soon." 


	20. Chapter 20

Afterwards the guards stepped aside and the gates opened as to allow everyone to leave. Some left right away and some stayed to have a discussion with the crew members they'd brought along with them. The gravity of the situation had finally hit him when Eren flung himself to Levi. How was there a way around this? A fucking bomb was strapped to his wrist, Levi had to race on open interstate, and his panic attacks were bound to come in as he had to so obviously go over 60. There was no foreseeable way out of this. Chances were he would die on this trip and that wasn't a fate he was prepared to face. 

There were so many things he had left to accomplish. He still wanted to graduate and finish his thesis, give the gym another little upgrade, rub it in Jean's face that he got to drive the Camaro, and even tell Mikasa he loved her in person. What kind of sick fucking individual would come up with a death race just for the fucking fun of it? Eren's chest hurt as he tried to fight through the labor of breathing. He felt as though he was having a panic attack about all of it but Levi's arms were around him tightly holding him so closely.

"It's gonna be alright," he whispered against his throat.

Eren pushed him back and pointed at the cuff around his wrist "How do you know that?! I'm wearing a goddamn **bomb** !"

Forcefully dragging him back Levi shushed him "Shh, it just means we have to win this race."

Mike approached them with a sinister smirk "Bonne chance, Rivaille."

"Eat me, Mike," he snapped viciously.

"Ooh,  _ careful _ with that mouth, Levi," he grinned "wouldn't want another run in with the crew would you? Remember how well it worked out for you and your partner  _ last time. _ "

Levi blood was boiling but remained calm as he smiled "Oh, didn't you hear? That's right you've been in Germany for a few years, right?" Stepping forward, he glanced up to the towering man and whispered "Your members took Karma's bullet. Such a _ tragedy _ . I'd be careful if I were you, Mike, and be thankful you were **never** in on it personally."

As Levi's voice dropped to a tone Eren had only heard when Levi threatened him, Mike scoffed " _ Or what _ ?"

"Or," Levi calmly answered "Karma would be out to collect  _ your  _ debt as well." Before he got into the Camaro he brushed his hair back revealing his tattoo and motioned for everyone to get in "Hotel rendezvous." With that they were exiting the manner's grounds and Eren was trying not to think about how bad his right wrist stung or about the bomb anchored on it. His hands were shaking and he felt sick but Levi tried to keep his hand on him. It was a small comfort to at least see him trying but it suddenly hit him that it wasn't just his own life in danger. He wasn't allowed to leave Levi. If that bracelet blew Levi would die with him. Suddenly this whole thing sounded more like a web to catch Levi up in it....or was it a spider's web that he willingly walked into?

The entire ride back to the hotel the cab of the car was deathly silent. Neither of them seemed to want to discuss what was on the line and it was probably for the best. If they were to see how long this race was supposed to be they could factor in just the potential length of the rest of their lives. When they got back he suggested that he be able to look at the GPS if he was going to basically be playing the navigator the whole time anyway. Searching the screen he looked around to see what the route looked like and he just sighed. Even going at the speed limit of anywhere from 65-75 interstate and 35-45 through cities it would take them almost 50 hours. There was a long drive ahead of them and he didn't know how he was supposed to handle all of this.

Isabel and Farlan were trying to concoct ways around it, trying to get him to drop it, but Levi stuck to it "I can't. I have to win this for  _ more  _ than myself. Eren's life, mine, and whoever is around us relies on us winning this. I should have guessed he'd pull something like this....I just didn't know how. I swear to you, Erwin Smith is  **mine** , I'm not leaving until he's dead or I am."

Eren placed a hand on his thigh "Don't talk like that right now,  _ please, _ I need to think clearly not focus on my imminent death."

"Sorry," he sighed as he squeezed Eren's hand "I never thought he'd fucking band us. Once I used that I.D. I knew he'd peg me but I never expected something like this. Is, Farlan," Levi got to his feet and hugged each of them, kissing Isabel's forehead "keep our contacts open, I might need them, and put out words to our garage owning friends since I might have to stop in and fill the bottles." 

Isabel's eyes were watering as Farlan clasped his shoulder "If you need anything else you fucking call us, L, we'll be there as fast as we can. We can tail you the whole--"

" **No** ," he demanded "no one is else is going to be at risk with this. In case something--"

"You didn't get to talk like that before your prison sentences and you don't now," Isabel shouted, shoving a pointed finger into his sternum.

"Ouch," he huffed before wrapping her up. "Listen to me, if anything happens to me you have my passwords and you have my will. Everything is lined up in the safe in the garage floor. I love you, baby sister, Farlan--"

"I know," he smiled "I'll take good care of it all." Turning to Eren he replicated the motion and smiled "Take care of him for us, okay? He's stubborn and an asshole but he'll bend if you just push the issue hard enough. Anything you need to tell us?"

Eren appreciated the gesture and nodded as he tried to avoid the sob in his throat "Yeah, get my computer and have Hanji crack it again. Send out my files to my sister. She has all my information. Banks, cards, gym, personal.....and if she doesn't it's on there. Make sure she gets taken care of for me?"

Farlan nodded "You got it. Isabel, c'mon, we gotta go."

Before he could drag her off Levi she attached herself tightly to Eren's waist "I'm so sorry, Eren, to ask you this. Make sure Levi doesn't do anything stupid. Keep him safe for me?"

Patting her head made her look up to meet his gaze so he could wipe the tears cascading down her porcelain cheeks "He's kinda my boyfriend Is. Of  _ course _ I'm gonna make sure he's safe. Don't worry, remember what I told you at the shop?"

"You'd kick his ass if he ever tried to do anything too reckless? Yeah," she sniffled and pushed up on her toes to kiss his cheek "thank you Eren, please  _ be careful _ . I'll watch everyone at the gym for you."

"Thank you," he lamented with a forced smile "now, take Farlan and get outta here."

"Okay, but take this," she placed a prepaid cellphone in his hand "if you need a secure line. Call speed dial 1. Our number is in it. After you use it, dump it."

Levi took it from Eren and nodded "Understood. Now go on." The two reluctantly vacated the room having said their goodbyes leaving Eren and Levi to begin packing up their things for the trip. A bit thankful for his lazy nature, Eren was glad that he hadn't really unpacked before going to bed the night before. Before packing away everything, however, Levi seemed to be fiddling with a briefcase he'd brought along. He was a bit confused as to what reason Levi had for carrying around a briefcase until he watched him slide the burner phone inside it and watched him remove something he'd only ever had seen before once. A twisted silver and lavender designed glass bowl was in his hand and alongside of him was a dime bag of weed.

Sighing Eren gestured to it "Are you  _ seriously _ going to get high and drive?"

Rolling his eyes as he removed a grinder Levi shook his head "No...maybe, depends on how I have to do this. Have you ever smoked?"

"Maybe?!" He replied incredulously "I cannot _ believe _ I just agreed to not let you do anything stupid and you're going to get stoned."

"Eren, I'm not going to drive stoned, it's for  _ you _ ," Levi grumbled as he began to pack the small bowl "you're going to ride stoned. Eren, this is a race with both our lives on the line. I'm going to be driving at speeds _ double _ your comfort zone.  _ Trust me. _ I can handle it but I need you to be as chill as I can fucking make you. They prescribe this for people with anxiety and panic attacks all the time in California."

"So you want me to be high during my panic attack?" Eren asked still a bit confused.

Levi shook his head as he stood up in front of him "Hopefully, it'll be strong enough to counteract it or potent enough to knock your ass out for a very long time. So, answer my first question."

"Uh," he tried to think back to the moment he hit a joint outside the gym in high school "once or twice in high school but it was just a hit."

"Great," Levi smiled as he held up his lighter "then inhale deeply when I pass it to you, hold it as long as you can  _ without _ trying to kill yourself, and exhale." He pulled the glass to his lips, lighting it, and pulling in the air. Eren expected for Levi to pass the bowl to him not for him to grab the back of his neck and pass the smoke to him through a shotgun kiss. A bit shocked, he tried his best but was not exactly the best at grasping the concept. When Levi broke the kiss the only thing Eren wanted to do was take a deep breath forgetting he had just inhaled smoke. Only about coughing up his left lung Eren scowled at himself as Levi chuckled and smiled before trying it again.

By the third time Eren successfully felt a rather light feeling about himself. It was actually not a feeling he hated although he had realized moving too quickly wasn't a good thing. Things blurred almost in slow motion when he moved too fast and almost everything Eren tried to do didn't end up well. He tripped over his own feet so Levi snickered and helped him out to the car where he was told to sit and wait. Somehow he became easily fascinated yet preferred to just slouch against the door and relax while Levi tossed the bags into the trunk aside from the briefcase he slid in the backseat along with a blanket and a small cooler that he sat in floorboard.

Once they began to drive Levi pulled open the ashtray of the car and removed a single white, spearmint lifesaver. He placed the end of the wrapper in his teeth and yanked the disc clear from it before placing the trash in his pocket. Eren watched him for a moment before he found his eyes getting heavy but he wasn't tired. He was awake and coherent enough to feel the car picking up speed as Levi was following the route lit up on the navigation. Upon exiting the city for a few miles, Levi shifted gears faster than Eren's current state could keep up with and pushed the car to speeds upward of 95 as he weaved through cars trying to catch up with the 3 people ahead of him.

Quite by unfortunate happenstance Levi had neglected to be informed of the type of high Eren was experiencing. Because everyone doesn't always have the same type of high he should have known that the opposite could have taken place than what he had originally intended. Eren's slight paranoia of cars mixed with the fact Eren's actions, should he move too fast, disoriented himself he was not handling the speed of the cars well at all. All the weed had managed to do was delay his body's natural reaction to the feeling of the car moving so quickly and increase his paranoia. When his chest began to constrict and his lungs burnt with the action of trying to breathe Levi knew he had to find a spot to pull off.

With an ounce of luck a rest stop was only a fourth of a mile off so he placed hand on Eren's leg and immediately stopped the car when he was able. Dragging Eren out of the car was much easier than he thought it would be and getting him to lie down in the grass atop his legs. He wasn't exactly sure how to deal with what was happening so he ran his fingers through his hair until he stopped shaking and he could feel the ground beneath them was no longer moving. When he was able to sit up Levi kept him held closely against his side not letting him move until he absolutely broke free of his grasp to empty the contents of his stomach into the nearest trash can. The only thing Levi could do was tell him he was sorry, he'd thought that it would work and because it didn't Eren had to suffer for it.

Before he met Levi again he watched as Eren walked over to the Camaro and popped the trunk. Not wanting Eren to overexert himself he picked himself off and dusted the dirt and grass from his sweats. Walking over to the car he drug out one of Eren's bags and waited for him to pilfer through it until he watched him locate his toothbrush, toothpaste, and small bottle of purple mouthwash. He couldn't say he blamed him for wanting to brush his teeth. In fact, he was glad it was an idea that came to mind so he could do the one that was on his own. 

Returning to place the items back in his suitcase Eren noticed that it was already back in the trunk. Levi was propped up on the tail of the car and jumped down to grab his things, toss them in the backseat, and grab his face so that he could kiss him. Surprised at the sudden action Eren pushed him back a bit and took a breath before dragging him back to kiss him and wrap his arms around him. He knew Levi had to feel bad for causing his panic attack but they both knew it was going to be hard on them. This whole trip was one trial after another.

"I'm sorry," Levi muttered softly against his collarbone "I thought it would work. Are you  _ alright _ ?"

Eren dropped his head to Levi's shoulder "I feel like dirt and I wanna lie down but we need to keep moving so let's go."

"Are--'

" _ Yes, _ " Eren smiled as he pulled back to kiss him again "I'm sure."

Levi gave him a forced half-smile "Okay, c'mon, I have an idea. Get in the car and kick off your shoes, as well as grab your phone." Obeying Eren got back into the passenger seat and kicked off his shoes after grabbing his phone. Levi was fishing around for something in the trunk and quickly returned with a pair of black and red earbuds. Reaching over the backseat he grabbed the blanket and whisked it over to Eren. Patting his thigh Levi smiled "Lie down, use my thigh as a pillow or I have a small one in the back. I want you to plug these into your phone, put them in, call me, and face the back of the seat. Don't worry, I'll have my hand on you in case I need to stop. If you can only hear me and not the shifting, if you can block everything out by my voice then  _ maybe _ it'll okay."

"Okay." Eren nodded and did as he asked, pulling his knees up a bit since he was a good bit taller. Laying on Levi was nice and having his fingers raking through his hair was soothing. When he called Levi and put in his headphones Levi mounted his phone to the dash and turned the volume all the way down so he'd only hear Eren when he spoke aloud. It was a bit weird but he'd definitely give it a try because no matter what this wasn't something they could fight. His panic attacks just had to be dealt with when they arrived and the symptoms managed. In his bags he'd been looking for his pill bottle but couldn't manage to find it so for now this was the go-to.

After hearing everything from earlier at the manner Eren had questions. Big ones. If this guy was the guy that took out Levi and tried to again then why the hell was he only so hell bent on killing him now? Most importantly if he was going to die, he wanted to know, if he was going to die then he didn't need plausible deniability. The system could shove that shit. There were things he wanted to know. As he closed his eyes and felt the pleasant feeling of Levi around him he knew it was the time.

Speaking aloud Eren took a deep breath and resolved himself "Levi....I'm probably going to die anyway so consider me taking it to my grave.....but I want to know.  _ Did _ you kill those guys?"

Levi's hand in his hair stopped moving before it slowly continued as he spoke "Hell, I might too. As a deathbed confession? Yeah. _ I did _ . Tattoo between the eyes and part of the reason I couldn't give up racing is because I'm  **not** done. There's one more name on my list and I will  **not** stop until I get a bullet between that asshole's eyes. I want to see the life drain from him even if I have to die to do it."

"That was the guy wasn't it?" Eren asked softly "On the laptop. He sounded so smug and arrogant as he spoke to you. Now, he wants to kill us both so I can't say I'm opposed to  _ stopping _ him."

A bitter laugh escaped Levi's lips "Ha, he's been wanting to kill me for years and I told you I wasn't hiding. He is though. He's scared and he  _ should  _ be. It's the second time he saw someone I care deeply for and is trying to take them down with me having to watch. That man is a scourge on the earth, a plague, a fucking disease, he's a  _ coward _ , and I'm going to let Karma handle this."

"With a little help from Karma the pistol....." Eren stated quietly, almost in a whisper. "Can I ask....Levi, if it's too weird a question you don't have to answer me....but...was it worth risking every _ bit _ of your life, the potential of rotting in prison, for taking vengeance, for getting revenge? I know that she was your first, well a lot of things, and she was family but do you regret it knowing it could catch up to you at _ any  _ second?"

There was no hesitancy nor moment to think before Levi answered "No. I don't regret it at all because Karma will catch up to all of us, even  _ me  _ for giving it a push. If the time comes where I get caught with no way out for avenging her then I will accept it with grace. I have a nice jacket in San Quintin. I'd be alright. I did used to ask myself that question everyday though. It took me a while to think it through all the way but my response is this: if you run from something you'll only die tired. I have to own what I've done and not let it own  _ me _ . I told you that I'd do anything for my crew, my family, and I will. Do not doubt for a  _ second _ Eren that if someone hurt you or Hanji or Gunther or Jean....I'd rain down brimstone and show them the fires of hell, escorting them to the gates myself."

Eren took a moment to take in his answer. Levi had such a determined frame of mind for someone who'd committed murder. In his revenge he'd somehow managed to find the peace behind it all and learn to accept that one day it would catch up to him. The man he was dating, who he cared for, had done such a heinous thing to avenge his family, a person he cared for. If he thought about it long enough he knew he'd eventually rise to the thought that sometimes to fight fire you have to use it. If someone hurt him or Mika or anyone he cared about, he knew he'd go to the ends of the earth to hunt them and put them **down** .  

With a smirk he had to ask something to change the air "Oh, well, what exactly  _ are _ those fires, huh?"

"Asking my MO? Well let's say it involves Karma, hot lead, more black, brackish water than fire, gates of a stomach, more lard than brimstone, and, uh, a bone saw," Levi answered uncomfortably. 

Trying to imagine what those things had in common Eren just stammered "I---Did you...--"

"Gators don't like it when their chunks are too big and to attract fish to a certain spot they'll hurl and then well....things float. It's the Everglades, Eren, they cover a vast area of Florida where many a boating accident, fishing slip ups, or even someone just losing their way happens every  _ single  _ day," Levi answered with a hint of laughter.

"Uh huh...." he drawled "moving past the time it took with a saw...cause...ugh...but just, remind me to be very nice to you and buy you a nice ring," he offered as he stretched up farther on Levi's thigh.

Levi moved his hand to shift and chuckled "I'm insulted, I  _ do _ have morals Eren....though they work mainly in a grey-ish area. I'd not murder you for ever breaking up with me. I'm simply not that kind of man."

"I know," he replied cheerily "you're taking vengeance for a girl who cheated on you. Somehow, beneath it all, you actually _ are _ a pretty good man. I think I can feel myself calming down now."

Returning his hand, Levi warned "Just please stay like this so you don't have another one....and I'm glad you think so."

"Okay," he huffed as he laid his head back to Levi's thigh "so what's the plan now?"

"Well," Levi began "we need to keep driving no matter what. Best theory would be have you drive when we're closest to the cities, hit the rest stops along I-10, and switch out. You can sleep on the ride outside the cities so you won't have an attack. Thankfully that gives me the most driving time. Our two competitors seem to be a good ways ahead of us and two members of the race seem to have vanished which doesn't bode well. Right now we're in third and 1 & 2 seem to be heading off to rest. If we can drive through the night we _ might _ get ahead a little."

Eren sighed "Can we take the night to rest? Just for tonight?"

Levi looked over him as he sat up slowly "Wanna sleep in a bed just in case you die? 'Cause, I'll be real, I was thinking that too."

Avoiding his direction as he adjusted his seat belt Eren just shrugged "Yeah.... _ not _ what was on my mind but that'll do too."

Brow quirking, Levi glanced at the road before turning back to Eren "What were  _ you  _ thinking?"

"Dunno," Eren started with a wide grin "maybe I didn't want to not have sex with my boyfriend before I died."

Choking on his breath Levi just cleared his throat "Erm....charming....touching, really."

"It would be," Eren laughed with a soft lilt "because hotel room sex is an elevated form of sex, like, let's have sex but let's  _ also _ disrespect this room."

"Wow..." Levi responded as he shook his head not sure if he was hearing this right "that's interesting coming from the " _ good boy" _ who really hadn't ever even done something like smoke weed."

"I'm a couple of things Levi," he scoffed "but a good boy _ isn't _ one of them. In fact, is that an abandoned warehouse?"

Glancing out the window Levi turned his head "Uh, it might be. Why?"

Sliding over Eren kissed his jaw before trailing light, gentle kisses down his throat "Stop?  _ Pleeaase? _ "

With only a very mumbled "Yeah...s-sure," Levi obeyed, complying rather easily with Eren's demands. Driving off the interstate to the warehouse off the beaten path, Levi tried his damnedest to keep his focus on the road instead of what Eren was doing to him. Busying himself with nipping and rolling the tender flesh of Levi's throat in his teeth Eren took more than a little joy in how simple it had been. He didn’t need to push any issue if it involved him getting any it seemed but then again, that was a quality that worked for more than just Levi. Perhaps this road trip couldn't involve locking themselves in a hotel room. It was to see how adventurous they could get when they weren't near one: a little shining star Eren found titillating and exhilarating. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my! I wonder what could be _coming_ next?! Ahahaha! Get ready, you all know what's next *does the smut dance* I hope you have enjoyed celebrating Eren's birthday with me! 
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahahaha! I hope you guys are ready for the smut! I also hope you're prepared for another double chapter since I just wanted this part to be over! That sounds awful but ya know *shrugs* Do enjoy, lovelies!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Disliking the part of this side adventure that involved Levi having to get out of the car and pull the doors off the old barn, Eren sat back in his seat and waited for him to get back. They might have thought it was a warehouse at first but there was still hay in the upper part of the loft and a wide section near the front for parking their tractors. Perhaps at one point the dilapidated fencing once held animals but now it was only falling apart and rusted leaving only weeds to be grown in the pastures it once enclosed. Eren was looking around while Levi got back out to shut the door and drive farther inside until the headlights illuminated most of what was around them. Nothing but spiders and insects called the old place home anymore and with their small bit of privacy in mind Eren leaned over picking up right where he'd left off.

Levi's back stiffened as he felt Eren's mouth reconnect to his skin, drawing it carefully in his lips as his right hand slipped down his inner thigh. Hearing the catch in his throat as he took a deep breath made Eren release an airy laugh against his skin. Using his momentary confusion to push his shoulders back into the seat Eren then climbed into his lap and grinned as he hovered his lips just in front of Levi's.

Meeting his intense turquoise gaze Levi hummed "Mmm, Eren are you trying to  _ prove  _ something to me?"

Purring against his ear, Eren pressed a kiss to his cheek " _ Nooppee _ ." As the pop in his word sounded Levi's hand apprehensively secured at his waist but Eren placed it down on his hip "I wanna fuck, Levi....... _ indulge me _ ?" Watching the realization streak through his darkened irises was like he was watching a lightning storm. Levi finally got his hint that this was no little moment to have fun and get back to the road, this was a moment to bask in, to allow him himself to be free in.

"Don't gotta ask me twice," Levi exhaled raggedly as he sat up to slide his hands up Eren's back. With an exhale through his nose Eren took a moment of solace as the rough palms slid across his skin even leaning back into the touch so that one could move around to go up his stomach to his sternum. Just something about the way Levi's hands felt on his skin was enough to have him not caring about whatever Levi wanted to do. Almost immediately after his hands soared over his skin, Levi was tugging up his shirt and tossing it to the floor. Sitting back in his lap, Eren bit his lip as he looked down at Levi ready to reciprocate the action.

Levi arched a brow and smirked so alluringly as he moved his arms and allowed Eren to unzip the hoodie before tugging it off his arms. His fingers wanted to caress each inch of the snowy skin as he examined the close cut of his muscle. Allowing himself to give in he placed a palm flat to Levi's chest and delicately dropped it as his fingers moved over each rise of his abdomen before he traced the scar against the jut of his hip watching as he jumped slightly. Tearing him away from his skin, Levi reached up to the back of Eren's neck and drug him down so that he could plant his lips over Eren's. Indulging into the rush of desperate desire flooding him Eren slung his arms over Levi's neck before allowing them to run up his neck.

Just as Levi turned his head to allow a better angle for deepening their kiss he let his free hand pop the button on his shorts. Eren released a soft mewl into their kiss as he felt Levi begin to test the waters, slowly gliding his hand up his stomach and around to his back just before plunging it down the back of his shorts to grab a firm hold of his ass. Eren hummed as he broke the kiss, pulling at Levi's bottom lip. Rushing his lips to Eren's collarbone Levi mouthed across his skin attempting to drag as much noise from Eren as possible. Without making so much as a whimper Eren decided to have a little fun. Leaning as far back as possible, until he could feel the steering wheel leaving an impression in his skin, he readjusted and allowed Levi to push him back in his lap so that he could easily map down his chest with the trail of smoldering kisses he was clearly so desperate to leave.

Marking his skin in deep, dark hues of violet and red Levi made his way down his chest, swirling his tongue over a nipple as his free hand caressed the other. Trying to bite back back the sounds crawling from his throat Eren pushed his hands up Levi's neck and into his hair as his nails raked against his scalp. It was Levi who made the low growl rumbling in the air giving Eren a hint that his idea of tinging his pleasure with pain was working. Biting down on the risen flesh in his teeth Levi decided at a hint of retaliation causing Eren to almost free the clawing moan in his larynx…. almost.

Grabbing the hand at the back of his shorts Eren removed it and threw his leg over Levi's lap as he opened the door. Getting to the ground Eren reached over to turn over the engine and flip on the low lights. Levi looked over to him a bit confused so Eren silently rolled his eyes and grabbed the drawstrings of his sweats to tug him out of the car. Understanding at that moment he eagerly made sure to grab the trunk key off the chain, get out of the car, and shut the door behind him as Eren led him around to the hood of the car. Eren stopped when Levi was up on him. Providing a wide grin, Eren placed both hands on his chest and shoved him back hard.

When Levi tried to walk forward Eren wagged a finger forcing him to stay put. Shimmying out his shorts Eren made a little show of tugging them down and stepping out of them, dropping them over the hood with an index finger. Leaving him in nothing but a pair of clingy plum boxer briefs Eren arched a brow and ran his hands down his stomach, toying with the band resting on his hips. Running his fingers along behind it, rolling it down as he gave a slight roll of his stomach to push them down dangerously low on his hips. Watching Levi's eyes focusing so hard on his fingers, licking his lips as he watched, it was easy to see that Eren's actions were beginning to tantalize him.

Stepping closer, unable to keep from touching him Levi walked up to him stopping just short of arm's length. Carnal lust streaking through those come hither bedroom blues, Eren watched Levi's eyes with a lift of his chin. He wanted to tease him a little more see how long before he completely broke. Turning his back to Levi he stuck his thumbs in the band and pulled them almost off, letting the cloth rest just below his ass before tugging it back up. Bending over the hood of the car Eren looked back over his shoulder, wiggling his hips as Levi was biting so hard against the corner of his lip he was in danger of puncturing the skin.

Grinning Eren turned around and pointed a thumb back to the trunk of the car and Levi went willingly. His prize for being good and waiting for him was allowing him to finally lay a hand on him again. When he heard the trunk slam shut and saw Levi returning with three things in his hands Eren stepped up to him, took the towel and sat it on the hood of the car and placed the condom beneath the windshield wiper leaving the bottle of blackberry flavored lubricant in his hand. Hooking his leg around Levi's Eren nuzzled against his neck as he pressed a series of gentle kisses and sharp nips there.

Placing the cylindrical tube in his teeth, Levi grabbed both of Eren's wrists and forced him to walk backwards to the hood of the car. Eren released a delighted hum as a bit of force was put into his hold. When he watched him Levi rose an index finger and twirled it so Eren obeyed before backing up, looping an arm around his neck, and swaying his hips. Levi removed the bottle from his mouth shoving it into his pants pocket so he could clamp his teeth around Eren's clavicle and slide his palms around to the front of Eren's hips pushing the fabric further down his skin. While Levi was busy dipping his fingers into Eren’s boxers he reached behind him to return the favor, tugging at the strings of his sweats.

Levi chuckled, breathing heavily against his ear "And I thought you wanted me to be patient for you Eren with that show, forcing me to show restraint. Isn't only fair I ask the same of you?"

Grinding his hips against Levi's, hearing a low groan, Eren snickered "Doesn't  _ feel _ like you have  _ anymore _ patience in you, Leevvii."

As he purred out his name Levi's grip on his hips tightened almost painfully "Mmm, you're not  _ wrong _ , say my name like that again though and I  **will** bend you over that hood."

"Why do you think I  _ brought _ you out here," Eren admitted before he turned around to whisper seductively " _ Leevviii." _ Making good on his words Levi grabbed his wrist and pushed him forward until his hands were on the towel resting atop the hood. Dropping to his knees, Levi ran his hands slowly up Eren's legs, kissing and nibbling at his thighs before pushing his hands up the fabric and yanking them down to his ankles sending chills across Eren's body. Thankful for the release of his erection Eren moaned softly and leaned into the touch of Levi’s hand as it ran up from the small of his back, following his spine, up to the back of his neck where he placed a soft kiss. For a moment he took in the cross tattoo between his shoulder blades and the vines of wisteria coiled around it. He knew it to be the memorial tattoo for his parents but he found it absolutely entrancing as the color was inked so vibrantly on his skin. 

Trying to ignore the new allure to Eren's skin Levi returned to his actions. Hand wrapping around his hip, securing around his cock, Levi gave an experimental stroke already feeling the pre-cum streaking down his shaft. It had been such a long time he'd been in this position but he couldn't rush this no matter how bad he wanted to have Eren. Continuing to make long, slow strokes around him Levi reached into his pocket to withdraw the tube of lubricant and break the seal. Having to withdraw his pleasure giving hand from around Eren caused him to make a soft whine only zinging straight to Levi's dick. He could only handle so much and Eren was pushing his limits to the max.

As he poured the substance in his hands and thoroughly coated his fingers he kissed down the sides of his neck and used his foot to slide one of Eren's apart from the other. Catching the drift, Eren backed up a bit sticking his hips up and shaking them a bit with a filthy little hum. Levi stepped closer to him, almost flush to his body, securing a hand back to his cock as a digit circled his entrance. Plunging the digit into him carefully, Levi began a subtle twist and thrust synced in time with the pump his hand around his cock. It was then a string of noncommittal moans and mewls sounded so openly from Eren's lips.

Rocking his hips into the action Eren's mind began to cloud. Heat was spreading out into his body, lighting his veins aflame, as Levi's hands delivered a source of pleasure like nothing he'd ever experienced. Feeling the subtle push of his nimble finger inside of him sliding against the walls of his body was only one part of the feeling while the other was when the second entered. Splaying apart from one another as they widened and softened the area, Eren couldn't help but crave more, more than what Levi was giving him. It wasn't so selfish to want him to fucking hurry was it? He'd not been with anyone like this and he wanted to see what else was going to make him lose his mind.

Sensing his overwhelmingly desperate actions Levi sent a hard thrust as the third finger entered him "You really  _ do _ want this don't you, Eren? So greedy and wanton." Those words uttered so drenched in a thick seduction, voice not unlike satin as he teased him, Eren was already matching his rhythm as he rocked his hips back. Levi was just as greedy for this as Eren but Levi was worried about not forcing any undue uncomfortable sensation onto Eren that he didn't have to. Ensuring that his body was prepared to give no resistance he took his time making Eren grovel. 

Without having to say a word Eren reached up to the windshield wiper and grabbed the condom, turning to him after he removed his fingers "I want you to fuck me so hard, so _ good, _ people driving  _ by _ will hear me. Can you do that, Levi?" Making an abnormal amount of eye contact, he seemed to have triggered something in Eren, something he liked.

Grinning, Levi snatched the foiled package from his fingers whispering by his ear "By the time I'm done with you Eren, Vikings in  _ Valhalla  _ will know my name." 

Eren stuck his hands into Levi's sweats "Then you better get rid of  _ these _ ." Pushing them down Levi willingly stepped out of them leaving him in a pair of blood orange boxer briefs that made Eren's mouth water. Reaching out a hand to his hips Eren looked up and ran his tongue over his lip before twisting back to the hood of the car, sticking his hips out and giving them a shake. Levi grit his teeth at the sight and hastily dropped his boxers to make a quick pump around his cock before sliding on the thin latex and stroking on an additional layer of lubricant. Pressing a kiss at his nape, Levi ran a hand up Eren's body letting his fingers tangle into cinnamon strands while another settled around his hip and began the push into his body.

Taking his breath with the slow push, Levi began moving at a snail's pace before he was fully enveloped into his body, feeling the intense heat of his body's muscles tensing and releasing around him. Waiting until he seemed to be adjusted to the newly foreign feeling Levi gave a soft thrust of his hips. Hearing the loud gasp of Eren's breath and hearing the unholy sound of Eren's fingernails scratching the paint on his car he knew it'd be alright to begin a gentle rhythm. After a moment of hearing the fast paced panting of Eren's breath mingling with his own he decided to tighten his fingers around Eren's hip dragging him back harder into his thrust.

"What's the matter, Eren," Levi panted huskily "does it feel too good for words? Or is too good that you can't breathe?"

Eren gasped as Levi's hips drove into him again " _ Harder. _ " Taking the directive he knotted the hand in his hair and pulled back into each hard thrust. With Eren already pushing back against him he moved faster, hearing the stunted breath leave Eren's lips in tiny, sharp, half moans unable to completely scream them. Only when he sank his teeth into the flesh of his shoulder did he hear what he'd been seeking " _ Ohmygod, Levi~~ Right there! Pleeasse don't stoppp! _ " He once again complied and drilled back into the same spot, finding his prostate and making sure on each quake of his body he screamed " _ Oh~~ Levviii~~ _ " over and over again. Eren was so reactive, so honest, and so much more than he could have hoped for.

Fucking him over the hood of his car, spontaneously in the middle of nowhere, making every moan reach his ears, Levi began to wonder how long he'd gone without Eren. Every magnificent part of him, body and soul, was a masterpiece he wanted to see everyday in his life. He was not going to let their sex over his car be the last of this, not if he had anything to say about it. The way that boy drove him to his climax, pushing past the wobble of his own knees when Levi's hips stuttered in their rhythm was incredible. Even sweating and having coated the hood of his car in various fluids, he still could only see Eren in no other light than simply mesmerizing.

Grabbing Eren before his knees could fail, Levi smiled and kissed his forehead "Easy, Bambi, lean against the car." Eren playfully rolled his eyes as he moved about trying to clean up to the best of his ability, he toweled off Eren, then the car, and then himself before discarding the condom tossing it to the back of the barn. He'd only hoped the barn wasn't going to be discovered by children anytime soon. In a closed in space, filled with sweat and lingering body heat, it was probably going to reek of sex for at least a week in Texas heat. It was a disgusting thought but even more so was he hoped it didn't stay in his interior now that they were both sweaty and needed showers.

Once they were modestly dressed they got back into the car, and on the road, as Eren laid his head in Levi's lap looking up with sparkling eyes "Hey..."

As he reached up for his cheek Levi leaned down for a moment "Yeah?"

"You're still sweating," he chuckled "I didn't wear you out  _ that  _ much did I?"

Levi rolled his eyes "I overheat easily and once I sweat it takes me a bit to calm down. I hate being sweaty and not able to shower."

"I can find us one of those rooms if you want," Eren drawled as he sat up before whispering in his ear "but I  _ like  _ you sweaty remember? Might find it hard for me to keep my hands  _ off _ you."

"Damn," Levi huffed "I might be getting old but I will  _ gladly _ die if it's a heart attack from going out like that."

Eren kissed his cheek and searched the GPS "Or, I can do all the work next time you can just sit back and relax. Oh, we have a hotel just a little ways up the road. I'll type it in my phone and go." Levi chuckled and kept a hand twined with Eren's as he drove. The fact he was tired, leaning into him, and still hitting on him was just amazing. He'd never quite known a guy like Eren Jaeger and as far as he was concerned he never wanted to know anyone else. He was the missing piece to it all and he didn't need anyone else to see that. Even when they got to the hotel around midnight Eren still wanted to pretend he was in any shape to be helping. 

Levi instead forced him to sit on the bed and kissed his cheek before grabbing the bags they needed and bringing them inside the room. While he got out a change of clothes for himself he sat the bag in front of Eren who picked out his clothing for in the morning and got up to drag Levi off to the shower. Simply showering together, washing one another, covering their body in dense, white soapy suds they found themselves relaxing. Their muscles were relaxing beneath the water but it was then Levi decided to put his hands to use.   
  
Gently massaging Eren's shoulders, kneading down his back, and even spending a few moments on his hips he could hope it would release some his tension. In appreciation Eren's arm wove around him and there they stood. Wet, soapy, and completely unmoving the two just relished in the embrace before finishing their shower and dressing in new boxers. The two climbed into bed and it was in that moment Levi's arms wrapped around Eren. Eren laid his head against his chest letting his legs tangle with Levi's as he lay against him like the perfect missing puzzle piece in Levi's miserable life. Again he found himself thinking just how lucky he'd been to be able to have this moment. Now, every single second counted and he'd be damned if he was going to waste them. He was going to splurge and spoil Eren as much as he could, take him and do what he could to make sure that he'd at least enjoy what might be left. In the end, he was preparing for the worst but he had a plan, a plan that wasn't going to be to accept his death with such placidity. 


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd part 2/2! I hope you're all ready for chapter 23 on Thursday!! ;) Things get a little fun!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

The next morning Eren awoke to the feeling of Levi's thumb circling over his hip and the humid heat of his breath against his neck. There wasn't much he thought of it, he mainly assumed he was still dreaming, so he wiggled around and tried to get back to sleep. A low groan he'd heard once before, the night before in the barn, rumbled in Levi's throat. Levi adjusted and pressed his lips into the junction of Eren's neck and shoulder. Opening his eyes, Eren looked over to the window noting it was still dark outside and grumbled as he examined the alarm clock's vividly red numbers reading 3:41am.

At the grinding of Levi's hips against his, feeling the not so-subtle rise in his boxers Eren mumbled groggily "Leevvi?"

"Mmm, let's disrespect a hotel," he whispered with an enticing lilt. "We only have the use of the hotel for a little while. Shouldn't we take it?"

Eren turned around in his arms burying his face in Levi's chest "Didn't even get enough time to sleep."

Levi ran his fingers through his hair delicately "You can sleep in my lap afterwards."

"Good plan," he mumbled "but throw in coffee and a bagel then I'm yours....on the condition you can make me  _ want _ to."

"Oh," Levi hummed as his fingers lifted Eren's chin "don't you know I'm the  _ best _ with my hands?"

Delighting in the soft touch Eren smiled drowsily "Hmmm, not bad with your  _ mouth  _ either though, I must admit, I've been wondering if you could work me like one of those engines you work on all day. Fingers moving through parts of an engine until it roars to life, renewed with an intense vigor....can you do that to  _ me _ ?"

Grin widening Levi met his gaze "Everyone knows that you have to warm up a diesel engine before you drive it so if you want me to try to get you to  _ purr _ like a motor....I can do that." 

"Stop talking about it then and  _ show  _ me," Eren breathed softly. Flipping Eren onto his back Levi hovered over him, letting his fingertips ghost up Eren's chest and down to his hips. Watching closely for ticks and tells in Eren's body from the way his skin pricked, to a flinch, or even a hitch in his throat Levi's eyes focused over the entirety of his body. Dragging his fingers in a languid series of motions and patterns Levi watched Eren's body chill as he moved from his hip up his side. Once place down. Sliding it across his navel, bending to let his breath move over him, Levi watched Eren's simplest actions reveal his greatest weaknesses. With the areas of Eren's body bared to him he rolled off the bed and stepped over to his bag locating the perfect thing that would have Eren begging him to take him before it was all over.

Returning to the bed Levi stripped away the blankets and made a little show of pouring the black cherry massage oil into his palm before taking a testing lick off an index finger. Eren's eyes lingered on him before he rubbed the oil on both hands and set to dancing his fingers over his skin moving diagonally from his right up in a winding curve, to go just above his navel, twist up the horizontal of his right pectoral, and graze just below the connection of his collarbones before trailing straight down at an agonizing pace down to the band of his boxers. Watching Eren's body writhe and his skin prick at the sensation was a delight in and of itself, however, the true delight was in the delicacy to be held as he cleared away the oil, tracing its pattern perfectly, with his tongue.

_"Hah... Levi~~ My god,"_ Eren panted as his back arched in a nearly perfect bow off the bed. He was already entranced, enthralled even, with the actions from just his hands so he'd clear the canvas and begin again. At this point he focused on the left side following a rather efficient zagging pattern moving down from the center of his chest to the left, across the to right, following almost a diamond, argyle like, pattern across his stomach which seemed to be his most erogenous zone aside from the obvious ones like his neck or inner thigh. Lazily lapping up the oil from his skin, pressing the smallest, softest kiss just below his navel, Levi then ran the flat of his tongue just above the elastic on his hips, watching them buck as Eren released a wanton moan from deep in his chest.

Already straining against the cotton confines on his hips, Levi took a note and pressed his lips firmly to Eren's cock through the fabric just to tease him a bit. Having felt him twitch beneath his touch Levi climbed off the bed and beckoned him to his side. He handed Eren two towels, a condom, cherry lubricant, and a small bottle of listerine. Eren seemed confused for the two towels before he grabbed a small, leather case from his suitcase and led the way out of their hotel room. Sneaking around in a hotel in El Paso wasn't exactly a part of Eren's plan but he just decided to go with it. After all, he'd let the flow go since he woke up and it had only rewarded him.

When Eren noticed where he was going he shook his head "Levi the pool is closed. There's a lock on the gate."

Levi grinned and held up a metal pick "Awww, that's cute, babe, but nothing is ever locked. C'mon." 

"Uh okay," he answered softly, a bit hesitant about breaking into the pool. 

Leading the way Levi stopped at the showers, tugged him inside them, and quickly tossed their things to the ground "Common courtesy is to shower everything off your skin so I guess we better drop these and wash the oil off you, huh?" Flipping on the shower, aiming the water stream away from them he stepped out of his boxers and ran his hands through Eren's hair using it as leverage to pull him into a kiss. No longer caring about any of it, Eren's thickly fogged brain only worked to experience what Levi wanted to give him. Unable to stand it any longer Levi shoved him against the wall and forced his feet apart tearing away his boxers and tossing them near the towels once he stepped out of them.

Grabbing the bottle of lubricant he coated his fingers and growled against his ear "I bet I won't even need too much. You're still probably soft, open, and waiting for me again; those greedy muscles in your body waiting to clench onto whatever delivers the most pleasure, pulsating around it, aching for more." His words provoked Eren a bit. He could feel his body tense as his hand crawled it's way down his back, slipping lower until he pressed his lips to Eren's neck and plunged a singular, lubricated digit into him. Eren gasped momentarily at the entrance before his body began to crave the fire pooling in his loins. Noting Eren's body giving little to no resistance, it seemed he'd been correct in his earlier hypothesis. 

Quicker than normal he added a second digit rubbing against the rim of his entrance and stretching the muscular walls. Pliable from their previous amorous activities he smiled before pressing a kiss to his lower back. Removing his digits from Eren's body he poured a swish of the lubricant in his mouth and used his mouth to deliver it at his entrance. Deftly replacing his fingers with his tongue, Eren's fingers dug at the walls to keep the rolling moans from doing just that. With the acoustics in the showers the last thing he wanted was to hear himself call out for Levi so desperately as if he were the oxygen providing him with life itself. All he could focus on was the way Levi's tongue was moving about inside him, rubbing against him, the ball from the ring dragging in a way not unlike his other piercings only increasingly more agile. 

Feeling the appendage flicking it's way about inside him almost sent him to his knees. Levi was a masterful tease, knowing where to pinpoint to send him over the edge before he even felt the roar of lust gnawing it's voracious way at him. His resolve was quick to wane beneath Levi's touch and it was about to go again until he relented, grabbed the listerine, and spat it at the drain.

"Don't get me wrong, Eren," he lulled as he turned him around, trapping him flush against his body and the wall "I love the way you taste but you wouldn't have kissed me if I didn't and I love kissing you." Dragging him to his lips he reveled in the slight mint taste in his mouth to the fact he could still taste the cherry on his lips as he retreated. "Can you swim?"

Understanding where the question was going Eren smiled "Not that I think we'll be doing any swimming but yes." As he finished Levi picked up their towels and brought them to the edge of the pool. Taking Levi's hand he followed him down the steps into the shallow end of the pool still at 4ft. Arms wrapping Levi's neck Eren finally got to see his face as he took pleasure in his body. Being able to watch him unravel in ecstasy would be a gift but getting to be flush against him, hearing his breath catch, watching his eyes screw shut, well that was a majestic moment no one else would ever have with him again. Indulging Levi in this, this lazy morning sex, before heading off to a dangerous trek meant he'd get to sleep longer, enjoy this, get breakfast, and not have a panic attack. Seemed like one hell of a win in his book.

Lips against Levi's, fingers wrapped in the soaked silken strands of his hair, Levi's fingers curling into his skin as they rested beneath his thighs lifting and lowering him, and the murmurs he made into their kiss already had the heat in his stomach at a full roar running rampant throughout his entire body. Craving his touch he gave into the will Levi demonstrated as he pulled him down, sinking onto his length and instantly gasping at the feeling filling him up. Assisting in the actions the pull of the water made it easier as he lifted himself over Levi, using his shoulders as leverage to help him steady. Opening his eyes he placed his forehead to Levi's, mouth open, panting, and watching the expressions crease his alabaster skin.

Slow and deliberate their actions ran a stark contrast to the previous hours. Levi marked softly down his throat as they continued, biting sharply only to draw a muted mewl or feel the quick rise of Eren's chest. Every action was watched, felt, as they inched closer to their climax. Levi's hand was around Eren's cock stroking him in tandem with each fall of his hips while his head lulled forward and his back arched just slightly. Coming unglued while being so perfectly against Levi, digging his fingernails into those perfect snowy shoulders, leaving a map of evidence in his wake, felt so godly he'd have sworn ascension was a near breath away. The better piece of it was after Levi pushed him through his orgasm and he got to return the favor.

Watching his breath hitch in his throat as a strangled moan of  _ "Fuck....Eren~" _ sounded from those gloriously giving lips and his head leaned back against the concrete wall, eyes screwed shut. He came not much longer after himself as he rode him through each stutter of his hips thrusting up to meet his and each tighter grip on his thighs. It was truly a gift getting to watch his face. No person would ever get this again, only him, and that was something for which he more than joyful. The downside of it all was learning just how disgusting pool sex could be. 

Unknowing that semen floated atop water the two made a single glance at one another and pushed water to push it towards the filter as Eren groaned "That's disgusting. They're not going to like changing that filter."

Levi hoisted him up and smiled "Well, here's to hoping they got a strong filter system. Now, you have to be cold, so let's get you warmed back up babe." Pretending to not feel the flush across his face at the second use of the pet name he nodded and put his hands on the wall to pull himself out of the water while Levi stared flabbergasted "God damn, the muscles in your back."

Eren wrapped the towel around his waist, flicked back his wet hair, and smiled "Tri-state champion, freestyle, 500 meters. You asked if I could swim not if I was an award winning swimmer in college." He couldn't resist the urge to skip a little as he headed off to the hotel room to steal the shower knowing Levi was at his heels from the patter of his feet on the ground. The chlorine smell on his skin was thick and he recalled more than a memory or two as he washed it off once he got inside, beating Levi. It wasn't as if he wanted all pieces of Levi off him just the stench of the acrid chemical. Staring in the mirror he loved to see the marks across his skin that Levi had left on him. He knew he'd left his own on Levi and that was an ego inflation. In a sense, he liked seeing Levi's possession, but only when it was invisible to others.

A knock on the door startled him as he was running his fingers over his skin. The door pushed open and Levi slipped his way inside to steal the shower as Eren brushed his teeth and prepared to leave. Just before he left Levi stuck a hand out to grab his forearm and give him a kiss on the cheek. Eren smiled brilliantly, almost ear to ear, as he stepped out of the bathroom and left Levi to shower while he got dressed. It was going to be a while before he'd be able to enjoy sleeping with Levi.....he'd hoped the time would come when he could lie together with him, entangled, and watch the sun sink beneath the gulf's horizon. Surely it wasn't so wrong to want to be able to want something so simple?

Life had a way of knocking them both down as they even struggled to stand but Eren didn't want this to be the end. If he knew Levi, any of him, and he believed he did, then he trusted him to find a way out of it. There was no way a man like Levi was going to just roll over and take this so when he walked out of the bathroom he put on a brave face, kissed him, grabbed his things, and headed out of the hotel like nothing was amiss. While Levi checked out of the hotel with a little pep in his step Eren relaxed in the Camaro. Grabbing the blanket from the backseat he made to immediately lay on Levi's lap when he got back into the car.

His fingers twirled through Eren's hair as he smile "Coffee and bagel now?"

Eren nodded "Mhmmm. It is my requirement for wasting what energy I had."

"Didn't hear you complaining," Levi snickered "egg and bacon bagel, sweet coffee?"

Sitting up momentarily he cupped Levi's cheek "Blueberry with cream cheese and yes. As for complaints, do you  _ really  _ think I'd have any?"

As he shifted the car into reverse he smiled "I'd hope not. Now, anything else?"

"Got anything to help me sleep?" He asked through a thinly veiled yawn.

He gestured to the briefcase beneath his feet "Valium, Trazodone, Ambien, Lunesta.....take your pick."

"Oh my god," Eren reacted with wide eyes "you're a fucking pharmacy!"

Levi shrugged "Doctors keep trying to dope me up. I think Trazodone will be the easiest although it takes a little bit to kick in."

After dry swallowing one of the peach colored tablets Eren laid back to his lap "So long as I can sleep with you again, I don't care how long it takes."

While driving to the nearest donut shop he chuckled "You mean on me?"

Eren gave him a wry grin "On, with, beneath, on top of, whatever preposition you want to use."

"You little shit," Levi couldn't help but laugh as he turned his attention to the road "just relax, I'll drive slow until you're out. Ready to go?" Eren gave a nod and Levi did as promised driving slowly, obeying all traffic rules and regulations, while inside the city. After his breakfast the medication he'd taken seemed to have knocked his feet from under him sending him off into a rather deep sleep. He wasn't sure how long he'd actually been asleep sleeping on Levi's lap but he knew when he did wake up to just open his eyes he was able to watch Levi whispering the lyrics to the song playing over the radio. When he felt the hand in his hair return to petting him gently he had a suspicious feeling that Levi knew he'd woken up.

Keeping silent he just tried to close his eyes again. Listening to the steady pulse of his femoral artery Eren was lured back to a rather peaceful slumber. Just watching that subtle smile crease his lips as he'd looked up to see him singing had been enough to awash him in serenity. His chest was light for once while he was in car and he was actively relaxed. It had been a long time since he was able to sleep so long in a car. He was unaware of Levi's speed but he found he didn't want or even have a moderate need to know. In his heart he trusted Levi would be careful and vigilant of his surroundings while they drove. He'd be taken care of.

Awaking again just as the sun began to rise he stretched and returned to Levi's lap. He'd been right about the bench seat. It made for fantastic little moments like the one he was in where he could just enjoy listening to Levi as he hummed the song on the radio, kept a hand in his hair, and kept the windows rolled down. Breeze flowing through his hair and a morning of ambience.....he'd almost forgotten what was at stake in all of it. Before he could even finish his thought, Levi's hand was pressing firmly into the space between his shoulder blades. For a moment he thought he was slowing the car but his eyes were glued to the GPS.

"This isn't good," he muttered almost under his breath.

Eren attempted to sit up but Levi shoved him back "Ugh. Levi, what's going on?"

"Competition's coming," he answered flatly "fast. Someone I happen to know."

"Then why is it bad?" Eren asked with a frustrated huff.

Levi crossed several lanes of traffic and sighed "Because remember the guy I assaulted in prison?" At Eren's nod he continued "Well......this is his cousin I do believe. Derrick was up in Sing Sing last I heard and boy wasn't looking at parole. Oh," he smiled and looked to Eren "and he wants me dead because I fucked up his cousin. Chances are he's after me and he's gonna smack this thing. You might feel it fishtail and I don't need you in a panic attack right now. I want you to take that brown glass bottle with the dropper, it's label says trichloromethane, drop some of it in a rag and take a reaalll deep breath."  
  
Eren stared up wildly "CHLOROFORM?! You want me to inhale chloroform?!"


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!! Welcome to the mid-week update. I hope you guys enjoy this little bit of revelation. This chapter will end on my favorite line of the entire story.....don't fucking judge me! xD I can't help it. It's one of the very few things I'm proud of so just let me have this one, okay? Haha, all that aside please enjoy!.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

"Would you rather be out of consciousness or have a panic attack and be out of _life_ if this asshole catches up to us? Because I guarantee he ain't gonna be shooting plastic BBs outta that nine I know he's got strapped," Levi informed roughly as he allowed him to quickly sit up so he could shift. "Just hand it to me and I'll do it." With an overly dramatic eye roll he reached for the briefcase, sat it in his lap and glanced over at Levi. Unfortunately before he could register looking at Levi, his eyes were drawn to the speedometer. The red needle pointed to just past 95mph and he began to feel nauseous.

Barely able to construct the sentence Eren tried to clear his throat "Y-You, uh...y-you're--"

"Going 97 miles an hour? Yeah, you just noticed?" Levi smirked before he reached over with one hand, keeping the wheel balanced against his knee, and secured his hand around the short brown bottle. Removing the dropper and a thick white cloth he quickly counted out a series of 5 drops, spreading them in a circle before taking it in his palm and forcing it over Eren's face. Not liking the options of either variety one was much more likely to leave him alive so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Inhaling the sickeningly sweet, thick aroma weaving through the fabrics Eren was actually thankful for the dizziness taking over him. Just before he'd begun to feel a panic attack setting in and he'd much rather be knocked out, or semi-conscious, lying in Levi's lap.

The very moment he collapsed, falling aimlessly to the side and into Levi's lap, the car began to spin. Tires losing their grip of the road Levi let the car move before he stiffened his hands on the wheel. He'd thanked god under his breath no one was around them when the magenta Mitsubishi Lancer rammed the back left corner panel of the Camaro causing the car to fishtail out of control. Glancing back in the rearview Levi clenched his jaw and shifted gears aiming to push the car to the heat of her engine. Eren was more than glad his head was only fuzzy. He hadn't breathed enough in nor gotten anywhere near breathing any in deep enough to conk out completely.

A voice from the left side of the car shouted "Levi Ackerman! Thought that was you the other day up at that crown."

Levi shifted and grinned smugly "Yeah and I heard that bulldog mug was still holed up in Sing Sing, Derrick!"

The mans bulged eyes shifted to his navigator, a woman with wild, orange streaked hair "Well I had a little help."

Eying the woman Levi scoffed "That your girl?"

"Yeah," he responded before gesturing to what he could see of Eren "saw yours the other day. Prison did really change you, huh, Playboy?"

Rolling his eyes Levi huffed "Why does everyone think prison turned me gay?! I was gay going in!"

"Too bad for him," Derrick responded removing a nine millimeter pistol from his waistband aiming it towards the car.

"Derrick!" Levi shouted "Not like this dude! I'm the only person who's dealt with this guy and knows what we're dealing with! I know how to get out of this alive! Does the bracelet on her wrist move?!"

Taking a moment the woman twisted it up and down her wrist "Yes!"

"If you can freeze the mechanism inside then it won't ignite when you break the glass cylinder!" Levi yelled back at him. "You'd have enough time to slip it off they detonated it remotely!"

"How do you know that?" Derrick replied as he lowered the barrel of the pistol.

Slowing the car Levi nodded "How do you think he got to me the first time, D?"

"Ya girl....." he drawled as he reciprocated, slowing the car.

Levi shook his head "He wanted to blow cops and everyone to hell only problem was I survived. You can get out of this alive, D, you and---"

"Sheila," the woman interjected.

"Then run," Levi continued "run fast and don't look back. Change your names. You don't wanna die for the asshole who conned us all!"

"No, I don't," Derrick answered as he raised the pistol "but I also don't want you any richer or _alive."_

"I'm sorry, Derrick!" Levi shouted "Javi deserved what he got that day! He talked shit about Petra, she died that day D, and I don't take well to someone disrespecting me or my family! You're gonna make the same mistake you keep pointing that thing at me!"

"Oh yeah?" He drawled with a cocky air "How?"

Under his breath Levi muttered "Sorry, Sheila." Placing a hand on the back of Eren's back, Levi stomped the brakes pushing the magenta vehicle far ahead of him. Dropping his finger on the shifter he pressed a pinhead sized button igniting the nitrous tanks beneath the back seats. Just before he surpassed them he took his opportunity and slid the Camaro into the right tire well of the car sending it spinning towards a runaway ramp. Colliding with the first rise Levi grit his teeth and watched in the rearview as it barreled over the risen sand. Without trying to focus much on it Levi waited for the NOS to cease after pressing the button and dropped his hand to Eren's hair. His breathing was settled and he'd seemed to be asleep....at least until the explosion behind them registered and he sat up like a meerkat from it's den.

Eren knew much better than to try to get up quickly. His head was throbbing and it was a bit fuzzy about what he'd bits and pieces he'd heard during Levi's conversation before the chemical finally took effect. Once he'd heard the crash, and what he assumed to be a collision of sorts, he'd snapped back to his consciousness even if he was a bit still, incredibly, tired. Chloroform wasn't something he thought he'd ever say he had experience in but now that it was scratched off on the top of the list of "Shit I Never Wanted To Do," he just wanted to know what was going on. 

Trying his best to sit up, and avoid the speedometer, Eren shifted against Levi's side and glanced up into the rearview mirror. Catching the tail end of flame Eren ripped his gaze from it. He didn't need to know what happened just in case. His own hesitation was understandable but he wondered why Levi looked almost sick. His eyes refused to scan the aftermath of the event and he had a small inkling as to why. Pressing a kiss against his cheek Eren searched out for his hand taking it in his own and weaving his fingers through Levi's.

"It's not your fault," Eren stated softly.

Levi sighed and shook his head "This one is my fault actually but it's not exactly like they were good people considering I know one to be a convicted rapist and murderer."

**"WHAT?!"** Eren stared back owlishly.

"Rape and murder of a 17 year old girl," Levi replied without so much as an inflection. "Derrick was a nasty piece of fucking work and it's a good thing he's not breathing. His girlfriend wasn't squeaky either."

Having to take a moment to try to understand that Eren replied with prevalent confusion "So, he get's tried and convicted for fucking rape and murder and she just sticks by him?!"

"Contract hit," Levi stated as he glanced over "apparently the girl was a rival for a spot in a prestigious college and the rest is a bullshit concoction. Neither of them are clean. People are disgusting, petty creatures, Eren. You can't take everything at face value in this world even salt looks like sugar."

Learning that by looking at Levi Eren smiled "Yeah, I learnt that first hand with you, but I think it's fair to say that karma collected a debt with those two."

Shoulders shrugging Levi sighed "Guess so, though it wasn't personal and that _ doesn't  _ feel right. My morals are high, Eren, until it comes to my family. This doesn't exactly sit right with me even if they were scum of the earth no doubt." Digging through his pocket Eren removed his phone and began to surf through his browser. Almost immediately he discovered what he was looking for without having to go too far. Front page headlines out of New York involved a breakout from Sing Sing prison. Eren recalled Levi mentioning that's where he'd least heard about this guy so he angled his screen just enough for Levi to see it.

"It says there was a breakout," Eren started. "Two prisoners escaped only one was shot and wounded in a botched robbery attempt at a church just a mile from the prison. It seems a woman assisted in the facilitation providing a vehicle and guard distraction. During their escape they killed a priest apparently too."

"Killing clergymen," Levi snarled his lip curling up "that's as fucking unnecessary as it is sloppy. Goddamned Neanderthals. Almost sad they didn't take my advice so I didn't have to scratch my car's paint."

Also recalling a bit about the cuff on his wrist Eren asked cautiously "Advice? About the bracelet?"

Levi nodded "Yeah, considering I lied."

"What do you mean you  **_lied?!_ ** " Eren stared back widely. He thought for a second that Levi might be able to actually get that thing off him. Had he just been lying to get those people to believe him and move on with their business to forget the vendetta they'd held against him? After a moment he supposed even if he had it had served to only protect them both. 

Glancing over to him Levi shrugged "I mean I lied. Getting that thing off......I only know how to slow it down  **not** stop it. I've seen it before. Tell me, Eren, can you slide it up your wrist and lower down your arm?"

Attempting to do what he asked Eren quickly sucked in a breath "Goddamn it!" 

Immediately watching him Levi pulled off to the side of the road to grab his forearm "What I'm about to do is gonna  _ hurt  _ but I need to know if there are six pins in your wrist or if it's free moving like the others seem to be. You screamed when this bracelet got cuffed on you so I have an idea. I really hope it isn't right." Carefully taking Eren's right arm he met his gaze and pushed the bottom of the silver band up and into his skin while Eren fought back another pained wince. Beneath the silver he could see three pins stuck inside his skin. He'd truly hoped it hadn't come to this but Erwin had sounded too goddamned condescending for it to be anything else when he'd brought up  _ "old times." _ Equipping him with the same exact thing he'd stuck to Petra in the final race.......this bastard was going to do more than deserve the death Levi had in mind for him.

Eren watched Levi's brows knit and asked "Are you alright?"

Levi huffed out "Not in the slightest. Eren, I've seen what you're wearing before because when Erwin was the second he equipped all his racers' navigators with them. Petra was wearing one the day she died and remember when I said the car's structural integrity wasn't compromised but it still blew? I'm guessing while his boys dumped the gas on the car he detonated it remotely meaning to take me out, along with several other people, in the aftermath. What you're wearing has these pins that got shoved under your skin but even if we could manage the first half of the equation then we couldn't get the other. If we take that thing off you the barbs on the end will rip and tear at not only your muscle tissue but your veins. The possibility of you bleeding out before I could do anything is  **high** ."  

Trying not to show the sheer amount of fear streaking though his face Eren nodded "Okay, well, that makes things increasingly more difficult. This isn't just a slap in the face to you but to  _ me  _ as well. He's comparing me to her. The only thing we have in common is a ridiculous attraction to someone I have a feeling we both knew to be  _ more  _ than a heaping handful of trouble."

An airy laugh escaped Levi's lips "Haha, you're more like her than you think with that ferocity but you're right." Placing his hands on opposite sides of Eren's jaw Levi made him make an unwavering eye contact before he kissed him "I swear to every fucking star in this galaxy and the next, Eren, that I'm going to get that thing off you. We're going to go home after this. I fucking give you my word, Eren, that man is not going to trap us like rodents. I'm not doing this all over again. I will  **NOT** lose you."

Kissing him again Eren placed a delicate hand to his cheek "I know you will keep your word, Levi, I trust you, but it's gonna take  _ both  _ of us together to find a way out. You need to stop putting so much on yourself and realize that I might not be a racer but I'm capable of  _ many  _ other things. We will find a way out together that I promise you. Now," he smiled "can I steal your lap to sleep again? I have a pounding headache right now."

"Chloroform will do that," Levi chuckled "but it's whatever you want, babe."

As Eren positioned himself accordingly, mindful of his wrist, he closed his eyes "You called me babe.......I like it."

Levi placed his usual hand in his hair once back on the road "Good. I'll wake you in about an hour. We need to switch out soon since we're coming up on a town."

"Sounds good to me," Eren answered through a dense yawn. It didn't take him much longer to fall asleep as the only things he could hear were Levi humming along to the radio, the breeze from the window, and the fact they passing cars quite often. He didn't really want to focus on that last one. All he wanted to do was focus on the fact that somewhere, somehow, there was a way to get this device off him and together. Fortunately he could only spend time focusing on the back of his eyelids but rather unfortunately he couldn't do more than sleep for around 20 minutes.

When he awoke he just lied there and relaxed. The space behind his temples was still a bit achy but he knew in a few minutes it would soon die down and if it didn't there was a pharmacy at his feet to help. He knew Levi would probably insist he take something as well but he just preferred to wait it out first. It wasn't as if his mind could prevent itself from wandering however. At first catching Levi's cologne lingering on his shirt was something he merely caught on the breeze but for a moment he allowed himself to take solace in it. Somehow he'd gone so quickly from point A of the spectrum to B: hating all racers and deciding that some weren't all that bad.

In only a span of a couple months Levi had gone from being a bane, a disease that he was forced to work for so that he could live, and get something from him that was more than information to something he found a comfort like no other in. Finding him attractive had only started the spiral but now he was full scale sleeping atop him and with him with possibility of death lurking and skulking through every bend in the road. Even though the stakes were high and more than his life was on the line the only place he wanted to be was with Levi. Murder, drug trafficking, street racing.....none of it mattered. All that mattered was he was determined to get out of this and he was pretty sure if this wasn't able to rip them apart nothing ever could.

Now, that was a comforting thought. The part of the scheme that wasn't a comforting thought was the fact he didn't mind it all. For some reason it was a decadent comfort to him imagining how he'd spend the rest of his time with Levi. Never having to leave the man he liked, the man he came to care for, more than he'd ever expected was something he knew he could only dream of. Levi was smart, caring in a perhaps mildly overbearing sense, and he was a man that was unlike anyone else in the world. Travelling to every country and province would never be able to unearth anyone perhaps similar to Levi. He was a rare oddity indeed; one with sharp edges and flaws, sure, but also one he never intended letting go of.

Sliding up in Levi's lap Eren looped his arms behind Levi's back and buried his face into his stomach. He'd heard a strange trill echo from Levi as he secured his hold on him but nonetheless he'd allowed him to snake around his thin frame. Levi had returned to blissfully humming and absentmindedly petting him as Eren returned to sleep for the remainder of his hour. His actions and thoughts had done more than shed light on his own feelings for Levi; they enforced the ones Levi had already bared to him. The epiphany that lit up both his mind and soul revealed that this was more than a place to lay his head, this was a place to stay; it was home in thunderous blue eyes and a horsepowered heartbeat.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! I know that it's early but I'm not going to be online tomorrow and opted for a Saturday update! I hope you all are prepared for the little twisty turn here. I know many of you were intrigued by Levi's past. Have another glimpse.....enjoy!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Sooner rather than later the time came upon them to switch out. Eren was still a bit drowsy but getting to have Levi sleep on him for a change was nice....even if he mumbled "both hands on the wheel," when he placed one in his hair. He'd given a snort of air through his nostrils as his response but obeyed. Levi was anal about his cars so he let him have his way and made sure to treat it as an extension of him while he drove it through town. As he continued to follow the route highlighted on the navigation system he noted he'd be going through another town shortly after the one they were in. Deciding to go through it and not wake Levi, Eren kept driving until they'd made it through the second small town and he heard his stomach rumble. 

It was time to stop to wake up Levi. They might not have had to stop for sleep but they did for a few other things including to eat. With a gentle hand in his hair and a little shake he nudged Levi awake. Groaning and grumbling he watched Levi's steely eyes flutter open and a sleepy smile cross his lips. 

"Hey....time to drive?" Levi mumbled.

Eren smiled and shook his head "No, time to eat then time to drive." Agreeing with the decision as his stomach began to growl Levi yawned and sat up perusing the available selections. It was late in the evening so the two opted for a place to just sit down and relax while they ate. For a while it seemed like a natural evening. Sitting together the two of them speaking of events they wanted to go or even simple things like their music tastes. Levi's rough exterior at times wouldn't have led him to his love of swing music, soft jazz, but it would have led to classic rock. Eren had to give him more credit when he even had quite the literary background.

Reading through Poe, Shakespeare, Chaucer, and even Alighieri's works he had to say Levi found another way to mesmerize him. Sure, he'd be incarcerated and still had some bad habits but he couldn't let that cloud those that were immaculate. Everyone has flaws and no one is a perfectly polished gemstone but finding a diamond in the rough with sharp edges and blemishes, well, you still found a diamond. All that mattered was accepting Levi as he was imperfect in all the minor and major details that came together to make him the man he was dating. No one was bound to love everything but he began to think that some wouldn't bother him so much anymore.

After dinner the two climbed back into the car and Eren made sure to sit closely by his side. Leaning into his side he sat with their hands atop his thigh woven through one another while music filled the ambient air between them. Since getting out of the city was going to take a few minutes he could stand to sit up and enjoy staring out into the night to see the stars. It'd been a long time since he'd actually been able to see them so clearly due to the congestion and city smog. That had only made him want to take more days off to relax and enjoy the smaller things both by himself and with Levi.

Head against his shoulder Eren whispered "Hey, Levi?"

"Yeah?" He answered without so much as a glance off the road.

"You know something? I think you're simultaneously the best and  _ worst _ guy I've ever dated," he stated calmly.

Levi glanced over and furrowed his brows "Uh, thanks?"

"Shut up," Eren snickered "it's just....in such a short amount of time I'm able to grasp the scope of your feelings and make out the meanings behind each of your gestures. You may have put me in a death race with a minor risk of explosion, due to your street racing and murderous needs, but you're also dedicated, hardworking, and sweet. You may not like to the show the last one often but it's there." 

"Hmm, perhaps, I don't but I do try," he gave Eren's hand a gentle squeeze as he made a quick glance over "and I told you that I really liked you Eren. I never lie about those things. You might just be the best thing to ever walk into my shop and ask me to do the impossible."

"Fix my heap of scrap?" Eren asked cautiously.

Levi grinned "Yeah but I'm glad you did. Gave me my first challenge and look into you. I told you I stared at you in the gym long before you stared at me. That fucking squirrel gave me the best thing of my life so far."

"Bushy tailed rat might be costing me a fortune," Eren beamed "but I can't really say I mind it now. What does bother me is not knowing why you were staring."

As Eren kissed him on the cheek he hummed "Mmm, because you always looked perfectly placed behind the front counter. I used to get a kick out of watching you get so angry at whatever you were typing and start chewing on the end of your pencil before sighing, very loudly, and leaning back in your chair shortly before giving up. It was cute. Also, you have a really nice smile so I always tended to watch you greet people coming in just to see it."

"You fucking sap!" Eren giggled before leaning into him "You're  _ adorable _ , and thank you, you look much better when you're not scowling at me haha."

Levi rolled his eyes "Uh huh, I'm not scowling all the time, this is just my face. Now, navigator, do me a favor and see how much longer we have."

Eren scrolled his finger across the screen "Hmmm, it looks like our next stop is Phoenix since we just came out of Tucson. It's about--"

"Two hours on I-10 going west," Levi interrupted.

"Uh, yeah. Glossing over how you know that. Next it's gonna keep us on I-10 and we're heading....to  _ Los Angeles, _ " Eren stated softly, slowly trailing off as he understand that this was bringing Levi home.

Jaw tightening, Levi slowly exhaled and looked over at Eren "Is it having us on I-10 or I-8?"

Scanning further through the route, Eren's heart dropped in his chest "Uh......Levi.....I don't think you're going to like this. It's not taking us through the interstate. We're going through downtown and moving through back roads. I think....I think this route is taking you  _ home." _

Pressing the brakes and squalling the tires Levi turned to him " _ What?" _

"Erwin," Eren began "likes to screw with you. I think he wants to take you where you came from for a reason. We can't afford to overlook it." 

Yanking the GPS over to his lap Levi began to scroll over the screen furiously shaking his head "It's gonna take us 5 hours to get to Los Angeles from Phoenix but at the rate I'll be going I can get us there in 3 and a half but cops are everywhere out there. As for Erwin, that bastard, he's not _ just _ taking me through my home town Eren. He's taking me to my uncle."

_ "What?!" _ Eren almost shouted.

Levi pointed to sections of the screen "See this? All through here we're following the territory of The Royal A's. He's having me march right through my uncle's front fucking door and placing a big ass bullseye on my back and between my eyes. Going through here is likely to get me _ killed.  _ Everyone knows this car."

"Not around here anymore surely," Eren suggested trying to calm down his rapid paranoia. 

He shook his head "Oh no, how many people do you know with this car? One.  **Me** . I didn't just get to Florida without a way. I got out of prison and didn't exactly have the means to be driving across country. When I got out I came back to this spot because people knew me but they didn't know I could race. I spent a few weeks racing for pinks and I sold every single car I won, but one. It was after that when I went to Florida and I kept a low profile until I got popped for racing. People knew this car for hustling people at races."

"Seem to be good at that," Eren chuckled trying to lighten the air "but seriously, you think they'll  _ still  _ remember after all this time? How could they still know the car is yours and that you still race?"

Levi sighed "People used to keep tabs on me. My uncle had me tracked so I guarantee when he hears a car like this is in town he's betting it's me and he's not going to be nice when he shows up. Going by these garages....."

"Can spell bad news? Imply something nigh catastrophic is about to go down?" Eren interrupted. 

He gave a singular nod "Mhmm. Quite possible."

"Then," Eren huffed and looked over to Levi with steeled nerves "we stop and settle your damn business before it gets us killed while our backs are turned. I remember he doesn't like who you are, Levi, but there's some reason Erwin wants us here. Before you say it's to kill you, and it might be, I'd rather die by your uncle's hand than by Erwin Smith's."

"If I ask to see my uncle, things......well he'll probably shoot me. You do recall he's the leader of a gang syndicate, correct?" Levi asked, yet didn't completely denounce the idea. 

Eren nodded "Yeah, I do, Levi but he might be able to help and if he kills us well then we knew it had to come some day right? And more sooner than later."

Levi's jaw clenched before he put the car back into gear "Fine. It'll be about 5 hours before we're there but when we get there I want you carrying a gun."

"You have others in here aside from Karma?" Eren asked not having seen the others.

Levi chuckled "Oh, yeah, paranoia runs in the family. I have one under the backseat and one in trunk. Just get ready, okay? This could get ugly." While Eren had known about Levi's past going to confront it was something far different. He'd known that he left, run away, at 14 and never looked back. It had been years since he'd seen his uncle that he knew of and if this meeting went ass up then he at least got to be with Levi when he died. He'd never imagined he'd be meeting any true, blood relation, family member of Levi's. It might not have been a good idea at first but he figured if something went down it was better to deal with it from someone like Levi's uncle than a man as vile as Erwin Smith. 

On the upside of things if Levi was able to form a reconnection with his uncle they might find it more than helpful. He didn't know what kind of man to expect completely but he knew enough to be cautious and air on the side of defensive. Whatever was about to happen it was going to happen soon. They'd entered the city limits of Los Angeles a while ago and were driving into progressively shifty areas. It seemed the further they drove all they saw were houses with rusted chain link fences, condemned apartment buildings, garages that were most likely chop shops, and a gas station on the bright occasion. The fact Levi had grown up in the area really began to bog him down.

The area was deplorable to say the least and it was no wonder he'd gotten into the life he had. Each block things seemed to get worse. Bars on every window, shady car dealers, pawn shops on each block, and even a bar beside them with a run down tattoo parlor at the end of the street? No. This was not a place he liked the looks of at all. It wasn't to say Tampa didn't have it's underbelly of the beast but it damn sure wasn't like this. He felt the desire to keep strapped at all times if he ever had to drive through this place.

Almost sensing his apprehension Levi's hand on his knee squeezed "It's alright. Promise it wasn't as bad as you're thinking growing up." Eren lifted his hand and squeezed it hoping that his action could convey the words he didn't want to utter. He didn't want his heart heavy with knowing what he had to deal with as a child being in this place. Maybe he'd know later but he didn't want to know while they were walking in it. It felt wrong to even be there and he'd felt insensitive for even suggesting it but they were already pulling up to a large mechanic shop on the end of the north block.

A six car garage seemed to be a heavy operation for such an area. Surely no one assumed it was purely the business of auto repair maintaining the large operation and keeping its doors open. Just a scan of the perimeter could tell that this was no ordinary shop from the graffiti on its outside walls to the men inside staring down Levi's car with the expression of hostility. Eren's stomach knotted and his blood began to chill at thinking of what was going to happen, of thinking of all the possibilities, of thinking that something could happen to Levi.

Dragging him from the thoughts Levi parked the car just opposite of the front door "Okay, I'm going to reach behind my seat and grab you my pistol. It's a .45 caliber. It's a Taurus, and it's slide is a little difficult, but you should be alright." Unbuckling his seat belt and reaching beneath the backseat he handed Eren the gun and Eren scoffed. Flipping it from one hand to another he released the clip into his palm, stared at the 12 bullets, popped it back inside, stared down the sights, and slid off the safety with his thumb.

Looking to Levi he shrugged "I grew up in Tampa, Levi, I know how to use a gun."

"Alright," Levi snickered placing his hands up in front of his chest. Eren gave a slight roll of his eyes as he reached over his lap to grab Karma. Sliding it into his jeans, at the small of his back, Levi got out of the car with his mirrored aviators and hoodie thrown over his head. Upon walking in Eren adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose as he scanned the lackluster area. Ripped leather upholstery on the stools at the counter, small television mounted in the corner, and a short coffee table with severely dated magazines in front of the scratchy couch.

Eren cleared his throat and stepped forward meeting the gaze of the thick man with a dark mustache and menacing, olive eyes behind the front counter "Excuse me, I need an oil change, the back left tire and side panel inspected, and a cup of black coffee if you wouldn't mind."

Levi cut in "And make that coffee as black as damnation with a hint of cinnamon. Just like I like it."

The man's gravely voice echoed in the cinderblock room as he eyed Levi "One second." Exiting the room and dipping into the garage the man left them to wait. Eren had wondered what that last little bit he'd said meant. He'd never known he liked cinnamon in his coffee before. He found that more than a little strange but nonetheless let it slide when a tall man with shoulder length, raven hair staggered into the room. Dusty grey mechanic's uniform coated in stains and grease, the man's harsh, haggard features seemed to protrude all the more without the cover of his greying stubble growing in over his jawline.. The dense crow's feet etched around his stormy eyes seemed to make them sink in farther but over all, he hated to admit, that he could see the family resemblance a bit.

"Do I know you kid?" He asked with a investigative, almost agitated, tone.

"No, but---"

"But you know me," Levi interrupted dragging his hood and sunglasses off "and I  _ swear _ to god, Kenny, if I see you reach for that piece under the counter I'll---"

Eren frowned, brows wrinkling " _ Levi!  _ Stop that. You're not here to instigate with threats."

Kenny's grin revealed dim, stained teeth as he cackled "Ahaha, listen to your wife, boy. What are you doing showing your damn face around here after stealing my car and runnin' off like some babbling infant?"

"I  _ won  _ your car," Levi grinned smugly "and I ran off more like a teenager who'd have enough of your ugly mug."

Eyes enlarging, Eren thought back to the one car, a trophy, he'd won but hadn't sold "Not the Chevelle--"

"And he's seen my car," Kenny grumbled.

Levi smirked " _ My _ car, old man, I got the title and everything. Don't worry she's sitting pretty, real nice in my garage back home. Tires haven't touched asphalt in over a decade."

"Great, and you're letting her rust away," he droned before his face fell twisting into something dark, sinister, and cruel "but that's enough of pleasantries and games. My traitorous nephew returns, and for  _ what _ exactly, L? Tell me why you  _ don’t _ deserve that tattoo between the eyes I could give you in flash."

"Oh, Kenny the Ripper, at it again with the threats. _ Real _ fucking shocker. Listen, you dense bastard, I don't give a flying  _ fuck _ if you do put that tattoo between my eyes and paint that damn wall in my brains. The way I look at it is I got a couple days left on my check as of today if I don't win this race and I'd much rather  _ you _ have my blood on your hands than Erwin goddamned Smith's. Hell, might even be quicker," Levi spat venomously waiting for his uncle's reaction.

Kenny's head cocked to the side before his fist slammed on the white counter top "That rat bastard! He's in _ everything  _ these days, L, did you hear he took the Mendoza's pipeline?"

_ "What?!" _ Levi responded broadly "Their line has been established for years. Didn't you have stake in that? How the hell did he get his grubby mitts on it?! Tell me though, the Mendoza's line, did it happen to have expanded up to Anacortes when he grabbed it?"

"Yeah, why?" Kenny asked curiously, stepping up to the counter.

**"Fuck!"** Levi shouted at the top of his lungs startling Eren momentarily. Shifting to Eren Levi shook his head, pacing, "Eren, this isn't good. This really is history repeating itself all over again. This isn't a race, Eren, it's an  _ audition. _ "


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And welcome back y'all! I hope you're ready for this. Have you noticed there are only 5 chapters left? Are you concerned? HAHA -cough- sorry, the evil laugh had to come in somewhere. Levi's past gets brought up yet again so I hope those who wanted this definitely enjoy it. With this I leave you until Sunday!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Levi's words echoed in his head bouncing from one side to the other. What exactly did he mean by this was an audition? He was trying to blow them all to hell and this was supposed to be some grand plan? It didn't make sense to him but then again most things going on didn't these days. For a moment he tried to let it register before he asked the next question rolling through his mind.

"An audition for  _ what _ , Levi?" He questioned softly almost not wanting to know.

Levi sighed continuing to pace from one end of the area to the other "For running. He's auditioning drug traffickers for his crew and it's no fucking wonder he tried to drag me back to it in the same way he did before. This is why he didn't need anyone going to squeal when it was over....we're running the entire pipeline....each city we're hitting are routes along the path he wants to run his drugs. He wants to see who's going to come out on top."

"So he took over a drug smuggling ring," Eren started without much clarity "one that you knew, but why? When he betrayed his boss didn't they have one already? What's the point?"

Kenny whistled and pointed a thumb at Eren " _ Whew.   _ You bagged a stupid one, son." Turning his attention to Eren Kenny tried to explain "Listen, kid, drugs run this business. More product moving means more money. One pipeline means a lot of money and two means a whole lot more. Each line can pull in different clientele and supply different things. L, I swear, did you bring a  _ goody  _ in here?"

As Eren frowned Levi snickered "He's a good boy, leave him alone, now what's up with it? You don't often get involved with other gang heads."

"I had control over the Mendoza pipeline," Kenny stated almost seething "and he took it from me. He cut into my business buying it out from under me then killing anyone who stood in his way including my men, the leaders La Luna and El Sol, sent some of my men to prison, and he blackmailed others."

"Shit," Levi cursed in a whisper "so he's got  _ no _ competition right now? No one wants to take him head on.....that's why he's starting to expand the pipeline up to Canada. He's gonna monopolize all drug trade in the south west and on the west coast. This must be what he wanted me to see and what he's planning since he brought me back in. After I got out of prison he brought me back when I got pinched for trafficking. He said when I got out, because I didn't rat, he'd offer me a place in his captains. I refused. I wanted out and he got angry. He wanted me to see that he planned to screw you all along and wanted me to be part of who did it just to stick in your craw."

"Damn, kid," Kenny sighed dejectedly "what did you get yourself tangled into? It sounds like he wanted a way to get the pipeline and give you a taste of revenge. I know.....Levi, that night you ran....I didn't  _ mean  _ what I said, you know that, don't you?"

Levi's features sharpened as he stiffened " **No.** I don't. I know what you meant when you said I should take over and I know the bullet wound in my shoulder after I refused. I know what that meant. When you tried to come after me after prison when you found out I was back in L.A. racing for pinks down at the Lates Strip, I know what it meant. You still didn't think I was good at anything so running this was the only thing I could ever amount to. I showed you up and you didn't like it. Jokes on you though, huh? I still have your car and I'm not only one of the best racers in the goddamn states---"

"He an  _ amazing _ mechanic," Eren cut in.

Smiling softly Levi continued " _ That _ . I'm a certified mechanic. I have my own shop and I'm head mechanic. You had me in this shop for years teaching me about cars and growing up with them. Cars are my passion not some street gang."

"You should have wanted to take over, Levi," Kenny started "and I should have known better than to force it on you. I didn't think you gave a rat's ass about  _ anything. _ It was worth another try though, Levi, and for what it's worth I  **am** sorry it ended in the way it did.....You look good to be pushing 31 these days."

"No, thanks," Levi stated as he looped an arm around Eren "I have everything I need right  _ here _ . I like everything I have better than running this gang. I might have aged well but you still look like  _ shit, _ old man, haha."

"Don't be a bitch, Levi," Kenny chortled "it was  _ just _ a shoulder graze. I see that you've done well for yourself and I'm proud of you, son. Now," he strode around the counter and took a seat in front of them at the bar "tell me about this race."

Levi shrugged as he stood at Eren's side "It's route just took us this way-"

"And you didn't want anyone reporting back that they saw your Camaro so I could follow you and see what you were up to?" Kenny asked with a knowing grin.

With a scowl Levi huffed "Basically, but Eren _ insisted  _ that I stop on the way. I believe he said it'd be better to die to facing you than get shot in the back trying to avoid you. Luckily, I just happened to believe him and needed an oil change along with a refill on my nitrous."

Kenny gave him a curt nod "I can manage that. It's good to have you back even if it is for a short visit."

Raising Eren's arm gently Levi rolled his eyes "Thanks, but I'm not worried about _ me. _ You see this thing on Eren's wrist? It's set to blow with NG if we don't abide by the rules. Erwin's pitting 8 of the best racers in the states against each other though 3 are already out of the race. I can't stay long because of it. I have to win this thing since it's the only way outta this thing. Except I bet you don't think it is. It's just like the one he snapped on Petra. We can't pull it off it's got barbs under his skin."

"C'mere kid," Kenny spoke waving a hand. Obeying Eren stepped forward quite apprehensively and allowed the man's rough hands to examine his wrist. "This is gonna hurt," he stated as he did as Levi had previously, shoving the bracelet up to see the pins at the top of the cuff while pushing the others into the bottom of his wrist. While Eren fought the pain burning and shooting up his forearm Kenny addressed Levi "We can detach the barbs from the bracelet but they'd still be in his skin."

Levi sighed "Yeah, afraid we can't remove them completely or he'd bleed out."

" _ Wow," _ he whistled "guy has got the reins on you two. Remember what I told you about that sleeve of yours, L?"

"To keep my heart off it?" Levi responded almost as if he were about to be scolded.

Before Kenny could respond Eren retracted his wrist and stepped back to Levi as he locked to Kenny's gaze "I  _ like  _ that about him. He's strong despite everything he's dealt with, sweet and amazing, even if at times that smart ass mouth makes you wanna punch him in it."

Kenny's unbridled laughter began to fill the room "Ahahaha! He's got you pegged, don't he? Have you punched him yet, kid? I give it a week before ya do."

Levi grumbled "Considering it's domestic violence if he hits me now, and the fact I hit back, no, he hasn't. I have pointed a gun at him and then he spit on my shoes to which I hit him in response but that was awhile ago."

"Actually," Eren corrected "you  _ kneed _ me in the gut and blackmailed me onto your racing crew then just wanted to sleep with me before asking if I would date you. Which I’m beginning to wonder about reconsidering seeing as how shortly afterwards I got a bomb strapped, more like  _ stabbed _ into I guess, to my wrist."

Kenny had to fight to restrain his laughter "Ha, you....and here I thought that  _ we _ were dysfunctional, L. Do as I say not as I  _ do _ ."

"I'll take neither option for 500, Alex," Levi groaned "and he actually cares about me now as I do for him. We're not that dysfunctional anymore. As far as we go, Kenny, I say you let me shoot you in the shoulder sometime and we'll call it even."

"Then even," Kenny announced "just warn me first. I'll put it through the ranks so no one touches your car. I'll go get your nitrous hooked up, see about your oil---"

"Leave it," Levi smiled "I'll take care of my car, just give me reign of the garage, and you see what you can do about his new jewelry."

Kenny agreed "Alright. About the bracelet, I'm going to lift it and take a thin metal file and saw through the barbs then I think I can come up with something for the NG. I can have your boy here tell me what I need to know about the rest."

Grabbing a hold of Eren Levi closed the space between them tugging him flush "Eren, he's a _ crazy,  _ old, gangbanger but he did have a stint in the military as explosive ordnance disposal, still don't trust him though. Do, however, trust  _ me. _ " With a soft kiss against Eren's lips he pulled back and smiled "Okay? It's gonna be alright. Kenny, do what you can."

Eren yanked him back quickly for another kiss placing a hand at his jaw "Don't get dirty working on your car, _ grease monkey. _ "

Levi gave him a wink "Thought you  _ liked  _ me greasy and grungy."

" _ I do, _ " he answered with a playful lilt "but there's no chance at finding what we did last time."

"Truth," Levi chuckled "now, be safe." He turned to Kenny as he made for the garage door "Oh, and Kenny? If you blow up my boyfriend I'll hunt down your  _ entire  _ crew, okay?"

Kenny rolled his eyes " _ Whatever, _ L, now c'mon Princess, let's get this thing off you." While Levi was heading into the main section of the garage to pull the Camaro in Kenny was leading him around to an office in the side of the building that only conjoined to the garage by a narrow hall. Upon entrance to the office Kenny noticed it was just the back of the garage. Strangely constructed layouts weren't any of his business but what was, was that he was going to be in pain until Kenny could saw off the pieces of metal connecting him the bomb on his wrist. Not quite the average, everyday tale but he hoped in the process he could at least prod the man's mind a bit. He wondered about Levi's childhood a bit considering how easily that debt between them had been settled. Perhaps he did hold a spot in his heart of his uncle after all, even if it was minuscule. 

Warning of him of the impending pain Kenny sat him down and brought a file beneath his band pushing up the cuff and began to steadily saw away at the metal pins. It was true he has a rather pain tolerance but nothing could prepare someone having to feel the back and forth of a metal file gradually sawing down pieces of metal stuck into the muscle tissue of a wrist. Sitting there with his eyes shut and his breathing pattern regularly hitched by a wince, Eren was trying to be as hardy as he could be. It was only when Kenny's voice struck him that he jumped and inhaled quickly.

"So, what are you involved in, kid?" He asked him roughly almost as if trying to whisk his mind away from the situation. 

"Uh, nothing," Eren answered "I own and manage a gym in Tampa. The only sketchy things I'm involved in are Levi's races and Levi himself."

"Guess he's trying to go straight," Kenny offered before laughing boldly "ahahaha, _ straight _ .....yeah, right."

Eren's jaw clenched a bit before he shook his head and lowered his voice "With all due respect, you called your bisexual nephew, a man you raised as a son,  _ a faggot _ , you  **don't** get to make those jokes. You have  **no** right. Not around me and  **definitely** not around him. That's such a degrading term and you used it on a bisexual man who is at least attracted to women, now, I'm  _ gay _ so I  **really** don't appreciate you making any jests of the kind."

Kenny retreated momentarily before he arched a bushy brow "Maybe you'll appreciate that I'm trying to save your life. I also said that when I was angry at him. I didn't  _ mean  _ it like that."

Calmly Eren held Kenny's gaze "Yes, I will appreciate your help on that matter, but your attitude whether angry or not, and how you treated him, I will  **never** appreciate nor condone. People don't get passes for saying things in spiteful, anger clouded ignorance. To be ignorant is one thing, for they can be taught, but to be willfully stupid is another. There are people like Levi and myself getting killed because of who we love and I'd appreciate it if you keep vacuous ideals to yourself."

"Aren't you a damn  _ firecracker, _ " Kenny chuckled "it's not a wonder in my mind why he likes you. I promise I'm not thinking of you two any less, quite the opposite now that I can talk with you without Levi around. You're a sweet looking thing on the outside but inside you're one tough bearcat, aren't you? Reminds me of Kuchel."

"I'm sorry," Eren stated, puzzled "a  _ what _ and  _ who _ ?"

"Bearcat," Kenny clarified "a fiery broad. I'm surprised you don't know: Kuchel is the name of Levi's mother. You're just like her. I can see it. An attitude that gets lit and won't stop until it's out of gas but it's take a specific trigger to set it ablaze. Kuchel was a very kind woman but you mess with her son and she was 'lible to break the teeth outta your skull. Most the time she wouldn't harm a fly and it wasn't like her to let her heart carry her anywhere. She was a thinker, a planner, but when it came down to it she'd do anything for  _ anyone _ no matter if her brain said it was a good idea or not. It's just who she was. When she got sick I started taking care of Levi more and more until she passed. It was hard on him but I know he hates that he doesn't remember her much. He was only 6."

Chest burning and throat drying Eren tried to remain calm as he was learning about the one woman who'd meant more to Levi than anyone ever had "He's mentioned her once or twice when I asked about his childhood. I never knew anything too much but thank you, for the comparison."

Honestly speaking Kenny smiled crookedly "She'd have liked you. Smart, college kid, with your own business....yeah. Keeping Levi in line is no  _ easy _ task but I tell you right now she could have stared at him right and he'd never touch another street race. He looks a lot like her so that look he's got when he wants you to stop something, that little frown, his eyebrows furrow, and you can see the raging wildfire in his eyes? He inherited that. Kid's dad was never around though, piece of shit even in  _ my _ book, he knew about Levi just didn't care enough to come around not even after she died. Levi's never met him. What about you? I'm sure you got a nice family gave you everything you ever wanted."

Eren had to bite back the contempt in his throat "Wow, to be shitty in  _ your  _ book he must be the worst person alive aside from Erwin Smith haha. My parents died in a car crash when I was 12. Street racers decided to get too out of control and skid into them. My uncle raised me until he died a couple years back and passed me the gym and my house."

"I'm sorry, kid," Kenny stated as he popped a pin off the bracelet "I imagine you don't like racers too much then, huh?"

"I don't," Eren offered as he winced at the pop "but I'm starting to not mind certain ones. Not all criminals are alike and the way things are right now, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than around the racers I spend my time around.  _ My _ racer is something else entirely and by the end of it perhaps I won't like them all but I'll  _ love  _ the ones that matter."

With wide, crooked grin Kenny chortled "Ahaha. Yeah, you're  **definitely** her. I get Levi's interest but sometimes I wish I knew him a lot better. He's his own man now and I barely know a  _ thing _ about him."

"Who’s fault is that?” Eren spat rhetorically before sighing. “He has a swamp cat named Mitzy, keeps the Chevelle in the absolute, utmost pristine condition, seriously I wasn't even allowed to look at it for too long, he's an incredible mechanic, runs a shop called CAM Auto, has an amazing crew, really likes wine and swing music, is a brilliant cook, has been working mostly day and night burning himself out, and he has a fantastic boyfriend who will do  _ anything _ in the world for him  _ including _ forcing him to go see an uncle he thought was going to kill us both," Eren prattled off with a stoic expression.

Taking it all in Kenny sighed "Yeah I know he's not my biggest fan but maybe, thanks to you, we can get on better terms. I'm glad he's doing so well for himself. Young lover keeps a man young and spry haha now, a bomb will stop that so once I get these three rods on the bottom popped I'm gonna need to start working on that. Why don't you tell me what's inside it so I can start planning something out?"

"I'm not  _ that _ much younger than him," Eren scowled "only 6 years and some change. As for the bomb, I remember something about the nitroglycerin being in a glass cylinder inside. If the clasp at the back of the bracelet is opened it'll rub a chip or something against a little piece of flint to spark the glycerin when a pin cracks the glass."

"Alright well, there's a way around that," Kenny began "but it not be the most fun---"

"It's already no fun," Eren interrupted.

Kenny snickered "Yeah but this is gonna let you out of it. I can move the back of that freezer and take the liquid nitrogen from the back of it's pump to freeze the NG inside, it won't need much since it has a high freezing point of 55 degrees. After that I'd need to drill a tiny, pinprick hole in the back and pour in acetate. Nitroglycerin is one of the most unstable, reactive, explosives on this earth but it can be moderately stabilized and potentially dissolved enough to register it unreactive to spark. It's going to be a tedious process, you ready to get started?"


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so my charging cord for my computer is out. That being said I have ordered a replacement but it'll get here in fuck knows how long. Im using the last of battery to update for y'all. Happy Easter (early) to those who celebrate and to those who don't happy lich Jesus day xD the next chapter will be the final smut piece and for that I will update two chapters. You only have a select few chapters left folks. I hope you think they're worth it.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Taking a deep breath Eren nodded "Absolutely, I trust Levi to know you know what you're doing." In response Kenny gave him a wry grin and set to sawing through the pins on the bottom of his wrist. He'd been completely flabbergasted to gain the wealth of knowledge he had. Never once had Levi ever mentioned his father and never once did he ask. He was glad to learn a little about his parents, especially his mother, he'd enjoyed being compared to her even if it was by her shitty brother. He didn't need to ask if Kenny was maternal or paternal uncle after the discussion about Levi's father. In the end it seemed Levi had grown up decently after getting out of it all.

Eren had been so flat out honest, refusing to sugarcoat a single word, when he'd spoken to Kenny. He'd wanted him to grasp the situation with Levi. It wasn't that he wanted to be there but he had agreed to call it even between them and chances were that was all he was going to get. If he stated outright that he could see why Levi liked him then he could understand the reason Levi trusted them together. At no point was Eren afraid or going to be scared of anything he could ask him. Together he knew they'd get out of this and Eren had led him there, to which Levi utilized to his best ability. Now he was sitting there a step closer to no bomb on his wrist.

Watching Kenny as he worked was a bit fascinating to say the least. Funneling a tube to the part he'd ripped out of the freezer to the back of the metal cuff was genius and watching him take a tiny drill bit to slowly spin around, dropping metal shavings to the floor, until it pierced the back of the metal was incredible. He might not have been a good man but he was damn sure good at this. Once he believed it to be frozen inside he grabbed a hold of Eren's wrist turning it to the side as he very carefully poured in acetate. Eren was on pins and needles, his stomach flipping with a nervous anticipation, as he heard a dubious series of cracks and crunches.

Inserting a piece of a snaked line he wiggled it around inside and removed it as quickly as it entered. Shaking Eren's wrist afterwards he watched as tiny fragments of glass and ice fell from the device. Kenny grabbed the bottle of acetone and poured more inside the device and continued to repeat the process several times until there was a crushed pile of dust and melted acetone and dulled nitroglycerin chunks on the floor. Flicking a tiny bead of the substance Kenny smiled and began to clean up the mess. Apparently, he was done. The only thing that Eren couldn't do was remove the bracelet or they'd be well aware of everything.

Stepping back over Kenny grinned "Well, kid, my job here is done. The flint is so drenched the shit wouldn't even be able to spark. I'm gonna take that liquid nitrogen and try to freeze that section of it up again though. Don't worry the nav. chip is on the other side of the device otherwise the interference would send it haywire. You'll be in good shape and not have to worry."

As he began to chill it to inactivity Eren nodded "Thank you, Kenny. I appreciate it."

"No problem, kiddo," he replied before his voice lowered "now I'm not stupid......I  _ know  _ the rumors going around about Levi. I also know with the way he was raised it's not likely to be  _ just _ that. Tell me, you think he's gonna kill him?"

Unknowing of how to respond but not wanting to implicate anything Eren shrugged "I don't think so honestly," before thinking _ "I don't think so because I know so." _

"Okay," Kenny stated with a slight nod as he got up from the stool to shake Eren's hand. After obliging Kenny gestured towards the door pointing out which to take so he could get into the garage. Following the directions he hooked a left and opened the far door to step into the wide garage seeing Levi elbow deep in the hood of the Camaro. Silently sneaking around the garage on the balls of his feet Eren maneuvered stealthily before coming up to Levi to wrap his arms around his neck and bring his attention to him. Quickly jerking back Levi looked to see Eren smiling brightly before he sought his lips.

Capturing Levi's lips and trying to not laugh at the smudge of grease on Levi's nose, Eren stood to enjoy their kiss. Spectator eyes lingered on them for but a moment before returning to their actions at hand. Once Levi broke the kiss and Eren wiped away the befuddling grease Levi's arms wove tightly around him with one at the back of his neck. During the embrace Eren sank into it and took a comfort in knowing that he could practically feel some of the weight lift from Levi's shoulders.

"Are you okay?" Levi whispered into Eren's neck.

"No," Eren replied "but I'm gonna be. It's basically not able to blow since there's no more nitroglycerin but a guy like Erwin is _ bound  _ to have a backup somewhere."

"You're right," Levi said between a kiss "which is why we're going to have one too."

Just before he could respond Kenny cleared his throat "You say back up against Erwin Smith? I got one hell of something to pay him back for and so do the boys. Eren, right? Do you have the final address?"

"Sure," Eren opened the passenger door of the car to grab the navigation system and bring it over to show Kenny the final destination in Washington. About to say something Eren opened his mouth but as Kenny was looking over the GPS Levi raised an index finger to his lips. Grabbing his phone he quickly typed out a message:  _ \--Kenny found an enhanced digital amplifier inside the device on your wrist when he was clearing away the remnants. He thinks it was amplifying a signal inside the car. Asking to see the GPS is his way of looking for a bug. We might have been recorded the whole way here. We're going to mislead him. --  _ Reading the screen he nodded and hoped that they could manage a way out of this. 

"The final is in Anacortes, see," Levi spoke just a hint louder than normal "if we could form a block before he got there then it'd be worth it. Payback for you and your boys."

Kenny sighed "We don't know if we're walking into the docks or a set up ourselves."

Levi's eyes narrowed as his voice dropped "What are you  _ saying, _ Kenny? I thought you could help."

"I got guns, a garage, and whatever you need to help you get there but no matter how dead I want that dick I can't leave my operation or afford to send any of my guys. You gotta do this one yourself, boy," Kenny offered with a wide grin.

"Then consider him good as dead," Levi stated as seriously as he was about wanting Erwin dead."

Kenny gave him a nod "Then you two better get back to it."

Eren hummed "Hmmm, I think we're going to find a spot to _ relax _ first."

Levi glanced over arching a brow "Mmm, sounds  _ too  _ good to be true. You want something, don't you?"

Feigning his ignorance Eren scoffed "Uh, how dare. Should I say it front of your uncle?"

"If it's four letters then no," Levi chuckled.

"Then you know what I want," Eren answered with an impish, teasing smirk.

Clearing his throat Levi brought back the GPS "Yeah, I do. It looks like I need to find us a hotel."

Kenny gave him a slap on the back "Wow, Levi, I said it once and I'll say it again. You have  _ interesting  _ tastes in companionship."

"You can say boyfriends or girlfriends," Levi sighed "then people might understand why I left."

"I apologized for that. Now---" Before he could finish his sentence Levi removed the pistol from the back of Eren's jeans and fired a round at the edge of Kenny's arm. Hand immediately rushing to cover the graze Kenny stared at him with wild eyes  **"Sonovabitch, Levi!"**

"We're even now," he cackled maniacally "take care of that shoulder and thanks for letting me work on the car."

Glaring for a moment, it fell away to a giddy, dopey grin "You're welcome! Now get out of my shop you little asshole!"

"Sure thing," Levi nodded as he took a note from Kenny and slammed the hood down on the car. Once Levi finished everything up in the shop the two got in and began their drive. While Eren was plugging in their navigation system Levi was unfolding the horribly scrawled note made out to the two of them.

 

_ Eren & L, _

_ Be careful. If you've already said something incriminating keep an eye out. I'll see you soon boys. _

_ -Uncle K. _

 

Reading over his shoulder Eren smiled "Are you glad to have repaired things?"

After a kiss to his cheek and getting the car back on the road he nodded "Yeah, thanks to you Gorgeous. I really thought he was happier without me there but jokes on him 'cause he's never getting that car back. He'll have to pry it outta my---"

"Cold, dead hands?" Eren interrupted attempting to restrain his laughter.

Levi rolled his eyes and smiled "Fingers. I was going to say fingers......what am I going to do with you?" Taking a moment Eren watched his eyes gleam with a mischievous glimmer "Oh....I have an  _ idea  _ actually. Tell me, were you serious about earlier?"

Eren snickered "Oh, about wanting to fuck?"

"What else?" Levi groaned.

"Yes," Eren paused "and  _ no. _ ...so like, both?"

Brows knitting with confusion Levi sighed "Uh, what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"

"I'd  _ always _ want to sleep with you, Levi," Eren admitted as he cringed slightly "but at that moment? I  _ wasn't  _ serious. I just wanted to get out of there."

"Damn, got my hopes up," Levi chuckled as he kept his eyes focused on the road.

Eren shook his head "Surely you weren't worked up by  _ just _ that?"

"Just mighta been hoping for an abandoned warehouse around here," Levi replied "or another barn."

Scooting closer Eren grabbed a rubber band from the dash and tied his hair back while eying Levi and sliding his hand down his thigh "Count your blessings, Levi, but if you go over 65 I will not be responsible if I  _ bite _ ."

"You're not--- **Whoa!** " Levi stiffened in the seat as Eren's hand slipped down the front of his jeans. Sliding down the seat a bit Levi readjusted and tried to quell the racing in his chest. It was not everyday that Eren was going to offer him road head that he knew. No part of him was about to stop it either, especially not as Eren's lips ghosted over the junction of his jaw allowing his skin to just brush his own. Chills coursed down his body and though he wanted to stop driving they couldn't afford anymore leisure time. All he could do was make things easier and give Eren whatever in the world he could ask for afterwards.

While trying to focus on the road he was also splitting his focus to the way Eren's fingers were teasing the piercings lining his cock. Toying with the metal barbells, rolling them between his fingers as he nipped at his throat Eren was rousing him and focusing entirely on Levi. At no point did he even hear the fact Levi's lead foot on the gas pedal was pushing the car at a little over 75mph. For a moment Levi stifled a moan into a cough and heard Eren laugh. That little bastard was getting his own rocks off on teasing him so he slid a hand to the bottom of the steering wheel and replaced the other at the inseam of Eren's pants rolling his fingers.

The moment Eren shivered he removed his hand as a subtle warning that if Eren was going to tease him he could damn well do the same thing. Taking the hint Eren nipped harshly at his earlobe before securing a hand around his cock stroking him until fully erect. Deftly unbuttoning his jeans Eren tugged the thick denim down his hips just enough to release his length before enveloping him near completely in his mouth. Levi's urge to toss his head back had to be almost physically forced down. He wanted to desperately to just close his eyes and relax, how anyone with sense could handle that he had no idea.

Tongue winding and twisting its way through his piercings, flicking against his skin so subtly, Levi wasn't the only one enjoying the actions at hand. It seemed Eren giving Levi head while driving was a minute thrill for him as well trying to watch him keep his composure and focus. Levi was not a man who prided himself on being able to keep a stoic face during sex, while he could if necessary it was something he didn't enjoy. Emotions streaking someone's face during the heat of the act showed just how much they enjoyed it. He always wanted to hear his partner or see what their body would tell him that their voice wouldn't. Now, Eren was trying to break him to get just the opposite while enjoying the cracks in his armor when he moaned over the radio.

Eren was reveling in being able to be able to cause him to falter in normally cool composure. Sucking around the head of cock as he pumped the base quickly, he was already driving him to quicker than normal climax. It wasn't his fault. Eren sucking him off in the car? Better believe he was going to make it easier even if he wanted to prolong it and draw it out to enjoy something that he'd probably ever get once every 2 years or something. As Eren felt the tensing of his body and his back coming off the seat he slowed down, wanting to take his time and give Levi just what he wanted.

It was another few minutes of drawn out moans and a hand forced into Eren's hair before he allowed Levi to achieve his orgasm. Levi was panting and felt as though there was no rigid bone structure left residing beneath his skin resulting in why he felt like a gelatin substitute. Eren lifted up from his lap swiping his tongue across his lip to clear away just the smallest trace of Levi's cum present at the corner. Watching the sight made Levi's chest constrict. Someone so gorgeous, so erotic, and salacious it was hard to ignore. Beneath his cute, stunning appearance was a smoldering, teasing temptress that pounced on prey with claws fully extended.

There was no way in hell he was not repaying or giving an offering to appease him. What a devious little incubus he truly was and how he loved that secret little minx beneath Eren’s skin. Dancing in those turquoise eyes was more than any one man could ever want. To him, Eren was more than what he could do for him but he wasn't going to say he disliked his giving nature. Now, however, was the time to show him how much he appreciated everything he did from spontaneous sexual acts in public to accepting him with all his baggage and flaws while still believing and trusting in him with every breath that filled his lungs.

Slowing just enough to drag Eren to his lips after he got resettled, he sighed "God, Eren, you're  _ far _ too good to a man like me."

"Why?" He smirked dangerously "Because I chose to suck your dick over breathing? Yeah, you're right."

"Tell me something, Eren," Levi stated flatly " _ anything _ you wanna do and I'll do it."

His voice dropped as he looked over "Whatever I ask?"

Levi nodded " _ Anything _ ."

"Come back," Eren whispered leaning against his shoulder "when all this over, come back to me alive. I know that there are going to be guns involved and you aim to kill this man but I also know he knows that. If there's a firefight I want you getting back in this car, driving us back to Tampa, and finally getting to just go out like a real fucking couple instead of fighting for our every allotted breath. I don't want to be on borrowed time with you, Levi."

Fighting the urge to pull over and hold him, Levi instead reached down for his hand and placed it over his chest "Do you feel this? My heart is racing, Eren, and not only because of what just happened. Being with you makes me feel just as, if not _ more _ , alive than racing. You're this rush I can't live without. This heart isn't going to stop beating anytime soon, unless you stop it with that mouth. I promise. I'm gonna walk out of this, Eren, now really answer my question. One sexual thing you want to do and we'll do it."

Eren gave him a soft nod "Okay...as for that I don't really know. What do you wanna do?"

"Seriously?" He chuckled, mesmerized. "Are you fucking kidding me? You're asking me what _ I  _ want? You don't want anything for yourself?"

"Making you happy makes me happy and I know no matter what, I'm going to enjoy it," Eren answered with a grin.

"Fine," he replied "next city, I'll stop for the night and I'll do something I know you'll love. What's the next city?"

With a playful inflection Eren answered "Vegas, baby."

"Are you serious?" Levi sighed.

"Yup looks like we can knock it down to about 2 and a half to 3 hours," Eren offered.

Levi nodded as he glanced towards the screen "We'll be going on I-15 North so about 2 and half. We can have some recreational recharge and then get back to catch up to number one. It seems the second place runner, who surpassed us last night, isn't even on the map anymore so I'm guessing he took the highway to hell exit. "

"So," Eren began with a sugary lilt "you wanna actually sleep afterwards?"

Squeezing his hand Levi gave him a smile "I love sleeping in your lap, and I do trust you with the Camaro, but I just want to lie beside you for a few hours and be against you. I want us to still be able to salvage parts of this trip."

"Okay, then let's get this bitch in gear and push it," he grinned.

"You got it," Levi smiled as he handed him his headphones "and you should take the time to sleep because here before long I'm going to give you an experience you'll  **never** forget." He began to switch gears after that, pushing the Camaro almost as hard as she could go as he felt Eren relax atop his lap. The music was up in the car keeping Eren's ears filled with classic rock as he weaved in and out of traffic but it still didn't prevent him from feeling queasy. After Levi's promise Eren began to wonder just what Levi had in mind for the hotel. What he'd done he hadn't because he wanted something in return. If Levi wanted to have a special kind of fun he could definitely oblige and return the favor.

Recalling something he'd seen on Levi's computer he began to search online for shops near the hotel Levi was looking at on the GPS. Apparently Vegas was full of them so he simply went to their websites until he found exactly what he was looking for. Levi was doing something for him and so he'd do it too. He didn't believe they needed to work on a system of balance. Just because he did him some special sexual favor didn't mean he had to reciprocate hence why he'd answered they way he had. If he answered the question seriously he would have said it could only be done when they got back home. Now, he was more interested in making sure they remained uneven just in a show that he didn't care about reciprocation, sometimes he just wanted to do something to make him happy with no intentions of gaining anything in return. Levi would have to learn he was just like that.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeyyy, so y'all have been waiting for this! The final smut piece has arrived. To make up for the two chapter I missed I'll be updating today and tomorrow meaning that Sunday.....guys, the final chapter will release on Sunday. In just a few days this story will be over but do not fret. I have many more ideas on the horizon. As some of you know I once released a survey as to what JeanMarco fic I should write. Because of the _massive_ success I've decided to do that again but with all my ships currently. There are 6 ideas listed for Ereri so if you have an opinion on what I should do feel free to stop on by and leave it. I also may open my requests again as a side project so the opportunities for new content are endless!! ---- > [Click Here For Survey!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScjTwIc7PcGgEAzeM1Kb-x7nWsjy4DeyTNNM6cCPD8qB3NInA/viewform?usp=sf_link)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy this sexy chapter and look forward to a new chapter tomorrow!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

When they arrived at the hotel Levi was checking in for them so Eren began to look up directions the place he'd found online called Destination Desire. After finding that it was within walking distance he inwardly squealed. He was a bit giddy to be doing this even if he knew he'd feel so fucking ridiculous at first. Once he saw the look on Levi's face it wouldn't matter how strange it was. It wasn't something he'd ever done but he was prepared to give Levi a taste of something he'd never had. By the time he was done with Levi he'd be thinking he hit the hypothetical jackpot with Eren even more than he already did.

Once Levi sat his bags down he made an excuse of going out to bring back some food to which Eren just accepted although strange. It didn't matter so long as he couldn't ask where he was going. Escaping down the street to the secluded sex shop, Eren stepped inside and perused several aspects of the store from more edible oils and lubricants to blindfolds and high heels. Upon finding what he was looking for a very pleasant young woman sauntered over and inquired if he was buying something for his girlfriend. When he responded it was his boyfriend and they were only in town for the night she began to drag him around the store allowing to try on anything on the racks and taste anything.

The woman was a massive help and he was more than certain Levi would lose his mind once he saw him. He expressed his gratitude and began the walk back to the hotel. Hotel key in hand he slipped it into the door once up to the room and walked into a pitch black room. Only when he heard the strike of a match and was able to make out Levi's figure being lit by the dim, warm yellowed lighting. He watched carefully as he lit a few more around the room, grin growing on his face as he thought of how incredibly cheesy this was getting. He waited, holding the pomegranate bag behind his back while he saw Levi take a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Hey," Eren stated softly "where have  _ you  _ been, hmm? I don't see food."

"Didn't get any," Levi stated mysteriously before grinning wide and getting to his feet "I brought you a little something."

Eren stepped up to him and placed a hand to his shoulder, shoving him back to the bed as he showed off the bag "What a coincidence. I bought you something too."

Levi sighed pleasantly "God, you're  _ perfect _ ."

Snickering Eren walked off to the bathroom "Please hold all comments until the end." Disappearing into the bathroom finding the perfect thing to add to his attire, he slipped out of his clothes and stared down at his bag wondering just what possessed him. Removing the emerald and silver lined pleated skirt he laid it atop the toilet seat and looked at the rest of the outfit, at the moment the easiest thing to slip into was Levi's white dress shirt. Buttoning it only at his navel before grabbing the pair of short, white, lace underwear. Sliding them on and examining the cut of them he found them to be more than a little comfortable. He began to wonder what women even bitched about until he moved.

As the lace rode up he grumbled but, knowing Levi, he wasn't going to be in them long enough to experience much, if any, discomfort. Placing his feet onto the toilet he began to carefully roll up the white thigh highs until they could be attached to the snaps of the garters dangling at his thigh. The thick lace band at the top of his thighs were delicate and while attaching them he needed to be careful so he didn't rip them. A dainty, silky ribbon on the outside made them look all the more feminine and alluring. Next he slid on the skirt noting, because of his long legs, it was abruptly shorter than he expected it to be but that was more of an unexpected blessing. The last piece were the glossy black heels to push his ass up and entice Levi a little more.

Upon opening the door he heard Levi pouring himself a drink so he shut the door but heard "Would you like me to make you a drink, babe?"

"No, thank you," he called out before streaking a line of X-Tice pheromones across his collarbones. When he was sure Levi was sitting down he shut off the light and carefully sauntered out of the room making sure to shake his hips a bit. Bending over just to push a waft of the the pheromone towards Levi  he coiled his fingers around the glass of bourbon "Why have you pour a full glass for me when I'd rather just have a  _ sip _ of yours?" He took a languid sip of the amber liquid letting a drip roll down his lip before he used to two fingers to fish out an ice cube and slide it seductively into his mouth.

He could practically see Levi stop breathing as his eyes raked down his body inch by inch. Steely eyes couldn't manage to meet his gaze until he finished the ice cube and ran his tongue over his bottom lip. Walking away Eren sat the glass on the minibar across the bedroom. With a singular bed at the back of the room it gave Levi the perfect vantage point when he bent over to place it down. Returning he stood in front of Levi with a wide smirk and allowed Levi's hands to cautiously reach out and run up from his knees to his thighs, fingers tracing the intricate pattern on the 4-inch thick lace band.

" _ My.....god _ ," he exhaled raggedly "you've been so bad going to get this without me. Good thing I have something for that." Reaching behind him he grabbed a thick segment of rope and a pair of silver handcuffs.

Eren arched a brow "Mmm, have I? I thought I was the  _ "good boy," _ Levi." Batting his eyes he bent to kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear "You bought handcuffs too.....my, you are trying to have fun tonight aren't you?"

Levi's voice dropped "You're wearing lace.....my dress shirt too....and I brought these handcuffs from home actually. You haven't been the  _ good boy _ for a little while now. Perhaps he never existed."

"Perhaps not," he purred "now I'm going to sneak off but I'll be right back."

"Oh, better  _ believe _ , I'll be waiting," Levi growled as he let Eren step back into the bathroom. Heels clicking as they connected with the bathroom's linoleum he drew Levi's attention with every step he took. Pilfering through the bag on the floor he returned with a bottle filled with a dark purple liquid. 

Handing it to Levi he examined the label and chuckled lowly "Blackberry. Look at you."

"Please do," Eren smirked "but I'd rather you  _ feel  _ me." Not having to be told Levi tossed the bottle beside them and yanked Eren forward wrapping his hands around the back of his thighs. Eren hummed as he felt Levi's hands exploring his body beneath the skirt. Once his fingers moved over his ass, taking a moment to grope him, Levi's fingers stopped as he felt the short fabric. 

" _ Godddd, Eren, _ " he breathed "even the underwear is lace isn't it?"

Lowering his voice as he ran a hand up the back of his neck Eren whispered "Oh, of course. You did wonder what I would look like in lace underwear didn't you? Well, get this skirt off me and I'll let you  _ see _ ."

"We gotta get those sexy heels off first," Levi responded.

"Aww, why? Don't like me being almost a foot taller?" Eren replied with a smirk.

Levi gave him a seductive smile "No," his voice dropped to a silken tone and he forced Eren into his lap "because heels chafe my shoulders." Eren released a surprised squeak but gave in and kicked off the heels while Levi's hands began to push beneath his shirt "And my shirt....tsk, tsk....bad boy, Eren."

"Really?" Eren whined " _ That's _ the piece of my attire you chose to focus on right now?"

"No, but it's the one that won't make me lose my goddamned mind so quickly," Levi huffed as he pressed a kiss to Eren's lips.

Pulling back Eren ran his fingers into Levi's hair "Mmm, but I want you to lose your mind, baby. I bought it for that specific reason. I want you to lose yourself in me,  _ in my body, _ so lose your mind."

"Oh, I'm  _ gonna, _ " Levi retorted quickly slinging him off his lap and over to the center of the bed "and whatever cologne you're wearing is driving me up the fucking  _ wall _ . You smell amazing."

As he loomed over him Eren rose a knee to the inseam of his jeans "Then bring it on.... and that's not cologne....it's a  _ pheromone _ so it's doing it's job increasing your libido. You gonna tie me up too?"

"Damn, crafty little minx, you might  _ regret _ that. Would you _ like  _ me to tie you up?" Levi asked as he nibbled at Eren's earlobe.

"Yes,  _ please, _ " he panted "do whatever you  _ want  _ with me."

"Later," he stated flatly "first I want under that skirt so get on your knees." Finding his blood at a full blown roar already at the dominance Levi was exuding he complied and stood on his shins. Taking the opportunity to be behind him Levi kissed down his throat and reached around to pop the button at his navel and let the sides of the shirt flow open. With one hand snaking up his stomach, knowing the feeling of his fingertips over the sensitive skin would bring his knees to tremble, he moved the other between his thighs fingering the edge of the lace underwear beneath the skirt. Eren's breath was leaving in ragged pants but he wouldn't have had it any other way. Just feeling how attentive Levi was being to what he liked was making his heart thunder.

Having promised that it was going to an experience for the record books Levi was prepared to make Eren's night the best one yet. While he teased him above and below the skirt he lavished his throat in a heavy map of hickies and bite marks. Eren's body was teetering. He didn't know to which hand to give into all he knew was Levi's body was behind him and he needed to brace himself against something. Levi didn't mind at all. He was too busy expressing how thankful he was and wondering what it was going to be like to have Eren under his tongue in those stockings. The purity of the white against his tanned skin had looked so perfect not to mention the way the skirt brought out Eren's spellbinding eyes had Levi beyond lost in the Wonderland of his own mind. Right now the only Wonderland he wanted to be lost in was Eren's body and he was ready to jump beyond the looking glass.

Laying down, Levi wrapped his arms around Eren's inner thighs and pulled himself until the entirety of his face had vanished beneath the emerald fabric of Eren's skirt. Feeling the heat of his breath mingling over his skin and through the lace Eren fought to keep his pitchy moan restrained but failed pathetically. Tugging the lace down his thighs using his teeth Levi carefully worked around the garter to lower the underwear so that he could lap his tongue up Eren's already strained cock. He could feel the damp fabric soaked in the excreted precum and relished in how excited Eren already was with such simple actions. Always such an honest body he had. Every piece, every inch, so beautiful. 

Pulling down the lace he reached blindly beside him for the blackberry lubricant Eren had brought him. Coating some over his fingers he made a teasing stroke around his cock and reached back to plunge a finger into him. If Eren was prepared for a long night it was going to be just that even if they started the fun a little early. Moving slowly, twisting in and out of him Eren had to fight to keep his breath steady and his knees from pitching him forward as he felt Levi licking the lubricant off his cock, the ball of his tongue ring dragging his flesh. A low moan sounded when he relented and finally took to adding a second finger while taking his length into his mouth. Fingers probing around inside him slowly, stretching him and preparing him as they scissored about and rubbed excitedly against him; Eren was feeling ready to come unglued.

Rocking back into the rhythmic thrust and split of the nimble fingers moving inside him Eren was getting desperate for more, for Levi to fuck him appropriately. Something highly accurate told him that he'd be waiting for that however and needed to experience what was happening first. Once Levi drilled into his prostate causing an arduous moan of his name to rip from his throat he knew that it was only the beginning. Again and again he pushed into the spot continuing to bob his head along his shaft and urging him into the first orgasm of the night. Wracking his body with a massive tremor Eren's breathing was heavy and ragged but Levi's hold on him prevented from him collapsing back into the bed.

Voice muffled from beneath his skirt Levi chuckled "You're not done."

Eren panted "Better not be. You haven't fucked me properly."

Having emerged from the skirt Levi released him and got to his knees "Are you getting  _ impatient _ ?" Throwing his arms around his neck he pulled Levi to his lips and quickly made for deepening their kiss. Giving in Levi placed a hand at his hip and held him flush against his body before placing his hands behind Eren's thighs and pulling. Successfully taking him off balance Eren fell backwards with an inhuman yelp. Levi then scooted back and secured his hands around his ankles and dragged him down the bed. He laid flush atop him pushing his knees apart and grinding his hips while Eren tossed a leg up on his hip.

Connecting his lips to Eren's he gave Eren the voracious, lusting hunger he wanted to drudge up from the back of his mind. Releasing carnal instinct Eren no longer attempted to restrain any nose or action. If he wanted something he was going to take it. Right now he wanted to feel Levi against him with each rock of his hips and every breath. This is was his time to relax and forget everything but Levi and the way he felt. He wanted this forever, wanted how Levi's every action was only to give him the utmost pleasure desperately trying to overload his senses.

Breaking the kiss, Levi ran his hands down body and pushed away his shirt so that he could take to marking down his chest and especially his delightfully sensitive stomach. Giving him time to receive adequate blood flow Levi was going to busy himself again with ministrations and make Eren beg for him. Nothing was sweeter than hearing Eren call for him in that pleading, wanton voice of his. While his lips worked his chest he began unbuttoning the skirt and flipping it off the bed once it's eight buttons were free. Eren was now only in white lace trimmed stockings, a white garter belt, and a pair of lace boyshorts. It was so tempting to take him right then but he wanted Eren to know he was thankful for putting the light back into his life.

While the tanned expanse of skin was bared to him Levi was unable to resist to putting the light in Eren's life quite literally. Having known from his porn stash how much he enjoyed this Levi reached over to the bedside table and stuck a match. Removing a cube of ice from the bucket perched atop the table he placed it cautiously between his teeth. Switching the cube from his mouth to Eren's stomach he allowed it to there for a moment, chilling Eren's skin. He watched for a moment as Eren convulsed until he let it pool on his stomach and awaited what Levi was about to do.

Hovering the flame of the match over his skin, just long enough to melt the ice cube, he breathed slowly on the flame making it dance across his flesh. Eren released the moan he was holding as he felt Levi's hand ghost across his lower stomach and extinguish the flame in the melted pool atop his stomach. Moving the water around on his torso with an index finger he began to trace patterns swirling and dipping over Eren's hips. Removing another match from the top of his table he struck it quickly and began to replicate his earlier action, blowing the flame across Eren's skin to hasten the absorption and evaporation rate of the water. Flame play with Eren was proving to be quite the thrill as his body reacted so easily.

Retrieving a candle from the table he quirked a brow and gave Eren a smile with an inclination of his head. Gathering what Levi was about to do Eren stiffened before wiggling to get into a more comfortable position. Once he was adjusted he gave a slight nod of his head and hissed as the lavender and rose scented candle wax dripped onto his chest. A delightful mix of unpleasant and more than a hint arousing Eren found the burn of the wax to weigh more onto the latter. Levi's careful pouring made sure to keep the flame alive inside the hollow hovel of the candle while he dripped the orchid wax down Eren's chest, his stomach, his thighs, and across his biceps. 

After it dried Levi cleared it away carefully, chipping it off and flinging it off the bed, before rushing his hands up Eren's bared skin to claim his lips again. Finding the time to get a moment in for Levi, Eren looped his ankles over Levi's and took control of the kiss. Flipping him over so that he was sitting in his lap Eren stared down at his fully clothed figure. Not one for being undressed while his partner wasn't, Eren bent over to kiss Levi while also rolling his shirt up his stomach. Breaking the kiss to toss it over his head Levi obliged but had something he wanted just as badly. Placing his hands on the backs of Eren's thighs he soared his hands over his lace covered skin. Eren felt the fire beneath his palms as they groped and grabbed their way up his thighs to his ass as he kissed his throat and decided to have a momentary bit of fun.

Hips moving in Levi's lap he kissed down his throat drawing a rasped groan from his throat. Hearing Levi's moans directly into his ear as his fingertips sank into his skin spurred his actions further. Lying atop him in the scant attire he saw the streak of lust in those bedroom blues and decided to amp it up a little as he toyed with Levi's nipple rings. It would have seemed he'd learn to stop teasing Levi but it was something Eren enjoying pushing. What he loved more however was when Levi pushed back so the very moment Levi sat up Eren jerked back. After placing his hands on Levi's shoulders to keep his balance as he rolled his hips Levi growled lowly, an animalistic sound sending Eren's body quivering with arousal. Instantly he felt the heat of Levi's breath against his the tender, heavily marked flesh at his throat.

Skimming his hands carefully up his legs and kissing his neck Levi whispered "Do you know how  _ beautiful _ you are Eren?" A soft whimper sounded in his throat refusing to answer the rhetorical question so Levi continued "Everyday I swear I notice one more thing about you that reminds me of how  _ spectacular _ you are. Eren, you mean the world to me and I'm going to  _ show  _ you that." Disconnecting the garters Levi slowly began to roll down the thigh highs. Flipping him carefully onto the mattress below him he extended Eren's leg and began kissing down his his inner thighs to his ankle as he pulled each stocking off. Tossing them off the bed he slowly began to discard the rest of Eren's clothing with the utmost care.

When Levi went to unfasten his jeans as he backed up, Eren sat up "I'm going to tell you I never do anything and expect something in return. There doesn't need to be an even balance, a tit for tat with the things we want to do for each other. Levi," placing his hands on Levi's cheeks Eren smiled, face flushed and glistening with trace amounts of sweat beading his brow "I care for you too but I'm going to take these clothes off you and put my mouth on what I  _ want _ .  _ Try _ an' stop me." Having no objection Levi leaned back and allowed Eren to slide down the denim on his skin. Getting him out of the jeans was a little difficult but Levi assisted him and even allowed him to mark down his body and slide his hands down into his boxers before he slung them off.

"Impatient," Levi breathed against his cheek.

Eren whined " _ So _ ?  **Fuck me, Levi.** Don't make me wait or I might just do it myself." 

At the threat and watching his hand move to his risen cock Levi growled and shoved him back to the bed "I don't fucking think so." Locating the black, plush selection of rope Levi began to wrap it around both wrists. Forming a double rope cuff knot with a loop to use to lower and raise his wrists Levi looked down with an arched brow. When he found the condom on the bed after a moment he ripped open the package and rolled it over his cock. Slicking a layer of the blackberry lubricant over himself he kissed Eren with a heavy fervor and pushed into him.

Not thinking about anything from how Levi tasted and felt Eren focused on the thrusting of Levi's hips after a moment. Throwing his bound arms around Levi's neck and onto his shoulders he began to match Levi's rhythm. Thrust for thrust Eren's mind was thick with a white haze clouding every ounce of coherence in his body. Each moan and pant he made as he broke from the kiss, panting, was more a series of babbles and half syllables. Levi sat back and lifted Eren's ankle to his shoulder as he thrust his hips harder, increasing the speed as he began noticing the stutter in his breath.

When he hit his prostate Eren's back came off the bed and his fingers clawed into the bedsheets as if it were the only anchor keeping his body down. Eren's body continued to writhe in ecstasy as the euphoria from his orgasm was soon to wash his body. All he could feel were the clenching of his own muscles, constricting around Levi as his climax was approaching rapidly. His final straw was Levi reaching to wrap a hand around his cock. Knowing that Levi's stamina had to be running out as well he pushed his hips back faster hoping to drive him to the same apex.

Levi's hips were already floundering in their rhythm but Eren's actions were forcing him much faster to the finish line. Orgasming just mere seconds apart the room mingled with pants and praises to a deity neither believed in. Falling over each other in a tangled mess of limbs coated in various bodily fluids the two tried to gain their breath. With the best sex of his life having just passed Eren wasn't going to be moving anytime soon and Levi was more than okay with that. It was a long while spent in the comfort of each other before the two found the strength of will to shower and clean up a bit.

Eren looked up to Levi once they were in bed, arms around each other "Where'd you learn that cuff knot?"

"I've known it a few years," Levi spoke softly "you may like being tied in them but I like tying you in them. I think we'll try a dragonfly sleeve next?"

"No objections," Eren smiled "but you know that takes like 50ft of rope."

"I got _ more  _ than enough at home," he chuckled as he kissed Eren's forehead "but what I really need is to have  _ you _ home with me so we can bask in the afterglow like this and have as much time together as we want."

With a sigh, Eren buried his face into Levi's chest to avoid getting made fun of for his blush "I'd really enjoy all of that but mostly it doesn't matter so long as I'm with you. Today your uncle said I reminded him of your mom and I couldn't help but think it was such a compliment even though I didn't know her."

"My mom was a wonderful woman, Eren, and you have a lot of the same qualities. I begin to wonder at times when karma is going to take you away from me because I'm not worth it," Levi uttered in the darkness.

Eren sat up for a moment "You _ are _ worth it, Levi, you don't get to decide how important you are to me. If I say that I care for you then you don't get to say how much I can like you. It doesn't work like that. Do you ever think that because I've done nothing but judge racers that I'd end up with one? One who can make me see that not every one of them is someone I need to hate or blame for my parents' death. Levi, karma is fickle and my karma might be to end up with one. I can't say. I don't know the future, but you know what? I wouldn't hate that. I'd say for the shit she put me through I could handle karma putting me with a racer for the rest of my life."

Unknowing of how to respond Levi nodded "I get it...I do...but I've never been worth much to people. Thank you Eren for taking everything you know and still accepting me for who I am.....now tell me who this racer is so I can kill him haha. You're such a good kid, Eren,  _ too _ good for me but maybe one day I'll  _ earn  _ you." 

There was a playful little shove before Eren kissed him again "You're worth more than all the cars and every ounce of revenge in the world to me. It's more like I'm just bad enough to let you be yourself and make you a better man in the progress."

"Yeah," he grinned "I think you will do that. Tell me Eren it couldn't have been your dream to run a gym. What did you want to do when you were little?"

Surprised by Levi delving into something like this he shrugged "I didn't but I like it just fine. I wanted to be a teacher like my mom. Mika wanted to be in health sciences and it was nice until my temper flared. When I was younger I had a really hard time learning to control my anger but my mom helped me deal with it a lot. No one would have guessed it really but I nasty habit of running my mouth off and had ridiculously violent outbursts. After my parents died I retrogressed into myself. I was angry at myself, if I hadn't wanted to go out that day we wouldn't have been out. The only injuries I got out of the deal was a broken collarbone from my sea tbelt and a gash on my neck. Survivor's guilt and a little sprinkling of PTSD and anxiety is what the therapist said. The therapy helped me get back to where I could even get into a car or learn to drive. When I was able I went off to college in Illinois where I wanted to study to be able to run the gym as best as I could. It was my parents, who left it to my uncle, who in turn bequeathed it to Mikasa and myself."

Levi squeezed him a little harder and chuckled "Well, I can clearly see the running off at the mouth went unsolved. You don't like when people lord authority over you."

Eren nodded "Yeah, well, I don't mind it so much from you at certain times."

"I like it too," Levi uttered "but you know something? I look forward to you making me a better man but that might not be easy. I'm old and stuck in my ways. What do you want out of life, Eren?"

" _ Oh.... _ " Eren had to take a moment to think of it before answered "happiness, the love of a good man, a place to call my own, and friends I can't live without. What about you Levi? Is street racing all you want? The high like nothing else?"

Levi's hold around him tightened "I got all I want right  _ here. _ I wasn't lying when I said that. The only thing I could want added is maybe a place to race and living a much quieter life than right now."

"Hmmm, sounds like something I'd be down for," Eren offered softly as an intense blush radiated in his cheeks "so maybe I'll stick around for a while. If you can handle me any longer that is."

Upon lifting his chin Levi smirked "I'll handle  _ all  _ of you very willingly but can you continue to accept me for who I am at this moment? I can never ask you to be okay with what I've done in my past I can only ask you accept it as a part of me."

As proof Eren kissed him and smiled brightly "Of course I can. Levi, I want that bastard dead too. He's tried to kill me. I was told when someone tries to kill you, well, you try to kill them right back. If I couldn't accept you Levi do you think I'd be here putting on skirts and heels to indulge your lace and skirt fetish? When it's all over are you going to retire Karma?"

"Yup, to where the rest of the list awaits her. I do have to say you indulging me was....more than a nice surprise twice in one day. When it is all over, Eren," Levi stated seriously "I want you to name a place wherever in the world you want to go and we'll go. I've got the means to do it and I want to. Morocco, Fiji, Paris, Tokyo, wherever. Pick a fucking place."

With a grin Eren replied lazily, tracing the outline of Levi's chest tattoo "I hear there are some cozy places in Switzerland."

"Wanna see CERN while we're there?" Levi asked as he slung his arm behind Eren's neck.

"More like the Alps from our balcony to enjoy a breath of fresh air after we spend the entire weekend locked inside our hotel room," Eren offered saucily.

"One hell of a good idea," Levi replied "and maybe I'll be able to quit smoking by then."

"Doing a pretty damn good job for past few days," Eren said softly.

Levi rolled his eyes "I'm fucking dying for one but I don't smoke in my cars. Don't want that smell ingrained into my upholstery. Eating lifesavers is keeping me busy but I swear you have to be tired of all the spearmint." 

"I love it actually," Eren chirped pleasantly.

He gave a nod "Well then, we'll make a deal to go and I'll eat all the spearmint discs provided I can still sneak a smoke every now and again."

"Deals," Eren grinned "are normally sealed with something."

Grabbing his chin and bringing him forward Levi kissed him "Then ours has been sealed with  _ this  _ kiss." Eren beamed before laying back to his chest and knowing that they didn't have much longer together in the room before they had to leave. As it sat the two were in the number two spot, right behind the leader, and if they lollygagged or drug their heels for any longer then they could lose it. Enjoying the time he had with Levi was the most important of this break so he'd tried to push away all the negativity swimming through his cerebral fluid and try to sleep. With Levi at his side holding him so closely he knew it wasn't going to be hard to drift off.  


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And let the story continue! I hope you'll all enjoy another two of my favorite Eren moments in this chapter. Let's just say that you'll know them when you get there. Do enjoy some fluffy bit! Another update is on the horizon for tomorrow and then you will receive the final chapter on Sunday!
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

Only a mere three hours later Levi was waking Eren from his place on his chest. Begrudgingly he budged from the bed and began to pack up. Settling for a pair of shorts and a red v-neck he got prepared to sleep a little more in the car. He should have been used to the start-stop sleep pattern but it still managed to make him feel overly groggy and sluggish. Without his headphones in the car he was able to get back to sleep while Levi played catch up to the lead driver. His attempt to sleep longer than a period of a mere hour was foiled. 

Instead of sleeping Eren decided to sit up and turn the radio up a bit. With the windows rolled down, the wind blowing through the car, Levi's hand in his own, and the radio rocking the speakers he going to force himself to have a good time. Relaxing for hours against Levi's side until they made it to Salt Lake City, Eren had failed to noticed how fast they'd truly been going. Only when Levi shifted and slowed the car down had he seen from where the needle of the speedometer. Levi's hold on his hand strengthened so he relaxed and began to take a few calming breaths.

As they stopped a gas station Levi got him a bottle of water while he picked up more lifesavers to which he made a joke about how the car doesn't pass gas stations and he can't pass the mints. In response Levi rolled his eyes and moved to kiss his cheek to instead nip his ear with a laugh. When he got back into the car he tossed him a mint before kissing him as he always did when they stopped. There were a few more hours left of the drive and mostly they were looking at a full day of driving ahead of them, there wouldn't be anymore time time for retreats or filling their limbic urges. 

Crunch time was upon them so it was time for forget about everything and enjoy what was left while in the car. During the drive Levi opted to push himself much harder than he should have so when the time came for Eren to drive he made sure Levi took something and went to sleep. He even felt the need to push the car himself as he kept the scanner on the dash on so that he knew when to slow back down in favor of not falling into speed traps. Quickly he was out of the city but looked down at Levi sleeping and knew he needed more than an hour of sleep.

Opting to push himself and the car, Eren hit the onramp and shifted gears without even glancing to the speedometer. Maybe so long as he didn't look at it he could do it. When Levi was driving so long as he had him beside him Eren had been just fine. It hadn't been until he looked at the speedometer that he'd had a problem so perhaps there was a way around it. He'd not had a panic attack in a while not even while sucking Levi off while driving when he heard the engine roar as Levi's lead foot mashed the gas. If he could manage this on a straightaway with little to no people at the current time then he'd be alright to let Levi sleep.

Should the moment arrive, and he knew Levi would scold him, when his chest began to constrict and his lungs burnt then he pull off at the first sign. As it stood, however, they'd lose time if Eren continued to drive so slow. The moment of truth was pushing the car and feeling the roar beneath it as his fingers on the steering wheel tightened. He took several breaths and tried to keep himself calm and steady but the moment he looked down seeing the needle of the speedometer push 70mph he began to feel a bit queasy.

Queasy wasn't panicking though and he could handle feeling a little sick. He couldn't panic. He wasn't alone and Levi was right there. It wasn't just about him anymore it was about them both. Being able to push past such a life constricting fear with the man he could come to love at his side was a big step. It was step he leapt to and hoped he stuck the landing to. Reaching down, he wove a hand in Levi's hair halfway thinking to himself in that frame of mind that it was for their life together. Partly the other reason was because he'd really wanted to but Levi had never let him before. With the way he was snoring he assumed he was in a deep sleep.

Assuming wrong Levi snapped a hand to Eren's wrist mumbling "What did I say about two hands?"

"Inappropriate for dicks but required for you car?" Eren jested hoping he wouldn't sit up.

Unfortunately things never much worked out for Eren as Levi yawned and sat up only for his body to stiffen and his grip on Eren's wrist to tighten " _ Eren _ .....are you okay?"

"Queasy, but alright," he answered softly slowing down the car so he'd relax "and I know what I'm doing."

"No you  **don't** !" Levi screeched "God, foot on the clutch! Shift gears!" 

Eren rolled his eyes and obeyed switching the car into the fifth gear "Okay so I  _ kinda _ know what I'm doing."

Levi huffed "My god. Okay, Eren, rule of thumb is every 15 miles over, shift until the final. I told you that now at the speed you're at you need to be in 5th. Which you were in but decelerating too quickly grinds down my gears and 3rd gear is only for the city so get to fourth as you approach 45. What am I going to do with you......actually I know what.  _ Pull over. _ I'm driving."

Glancing towards him Eren shook his head "No, you need to rest. I can handle this. I promise just let me."

"What if you have a panic attack, Eren?  _ What then _ ?! You might not be able to get me up!" Levi panicked rattling off a scenario most likely to happen in his head.

"Yeah right," Eren sighed "I touch you even a little and you're awake. I want you to rest."

"And I want to eat tiramisu off your _ ass _ but we don't always get what we want,  _ do we _ ?" Levi sarcastically replied.

With a grin Eren chuckled "We can arrange  _ both _ of those if you let me do this, Levi, please. We can't afford to waste anymore time and it's not just about you, you know. I'm slowly getting used to this," accelerating and hearing the engine rev Eren shifted gears and sighed "and if I can get used to this you can take a break. You've slept for jack shit and I need you to get more than like 6 hours you've had over the last couple days. I don't even know  _ how  _ you're alive."

After watching him, rather seamlessly, shift gears Levi relented "You can drive but I'm staying to watch you. If so much as miss a gear, grind a gear, stall my car, or anything else I'm kicking you out."

"You can always switch  _ for _ me," Eren mocked "but seriously just at least lay down and talk because that keeps me calm. You help me just by being in the car so if you can keep my mind off the speedometer---"

"Then I will switch gears for you and even tell you when to slow," Levi offered sliding up beside him "so I'll relax just not sleep until we are in the next city." 

Agreeing to the stipulation Eren nodded "Okay, just tell me when I need to have my foot on the clutch. Now, what is this about wanting to eat tiramisu off my ass, Levi?"

"We need to have a conversation about when I'm kidding and when I'm serious," Levi sighed with a hand at his temple.

Eren snickered "Are you saying you  _ wouldn't _ eat tiramisu off my ass?" 

Levi groaned and rolled his eyes "Shut up and fucking drive, Eren." Unable to keep from laughing he returned his gaze to the road and placed a free hand on Levi's knee. Driving with Levi at his side just singing and relaxing was more than enough to relax him. It wasn't so bad driving with him at his side and switching gears for him. Telling him when to slow as they approached city limits was nice but he tried to demand at the gas station they switch places. With more than enough sleep Eren just grinned and shoved a bag of lifesavers in his chest. They'd made it to Boise and had around 10 hours left of the trip so they couldn't afford to have anything else.

He did promise he could have the car if he slept at least a half hour once they got out on the road. Levi had agreed and kept his mind occupied with stories of Farlan secretly asking Levi's help with Isabel. Apparently when they were younger Farlan and Levi didn't exactly get along at first but after it was clear Isabel was more like his sister than a potential love interest the two reconciled their differences. It was kind of sweet the way Farlan had pined after Isabel for so long and finally was able to win her heart. According to Levi it didn't bother him and he was even helping Farlan plan their engagement. Eren gave a smile and tried to picture how Levi would look in tuxedo at their wedding and if their relationship would carry them to that particular moment. He hoped it would.

While he drove and Levi slept he was allowed to finally rest a hand in Levi's hair. It was amazing just what that man had done for him. Without even knowing it he'd already changed his life and he'd bet money that he was already changing Levi's. Just something about being at his side gave him a sense of comfort he felt nowhere else so when he woke he kept true to his word and let him drive even if he could handle it. Levi had given him a lot of leeway and so that was enough for him. He'd been making progress and that was all he could ask for. Not unlike an otter banging a rock against a clam he was waiting for the rest of Levi to open.

In return for everything he'd gotten so much and the only thing he wanted was his emotion. He wanted to know what he thought of everything that had happened. All he'd heard from him was anger but what he'd seen encased inside his eyes was pain, betrayal, and suffering. Knowing what was truly there mattered just as much as Levi opening up completely but he supposed he hadn't either. He knew Levi cared greatly for him and the same could be said of Eren, he knew that with time he'd come to love Levi, but he wondered what Levi even thought of that possibility. There were things he wanted to pry from him as Levi had pried from him.

Their afterglow had important questions laced through it and he'd found that interesting. During the drive Levi had asked him about his hobbies, what his time at college was like, and his childhood. Willingly telling him he liked swimming, badminton, gaming, and reading he also tossed out that college was a busy blur from extra curricular that only drained him more to business classes making him wear suits, and his childhood was fantastic until age 12. His parents had doted, well more so his mother, but he'd enjoyed yearly trips to go skiing in Colorado where his father's boss allowed them to use his cabin for a weekend. He'd seen the recognition on his face about Switzerland then, he discovered skiing reminded him of better times.

Levi had called him on it just barely touching the subject but said he'd gladly allow him to laugh as he ate snow. In return for the information he'd finally gotten to have a little moment of his own.

"You never told me how you felt about everything, Levi," Eren muttered softly "I mean,  _ really. _ I want you to be able to tell me."

Glancing over he left out a little huff through his nose "Mhpf. You want to hear that it hurts? That's a no brainer. Anyone could see that losing someone hurts. I feel  _ betrayed _ and wonder why I was cheated out of having my mother. I'm a product of my environment sure but I also made the choices I did without staring down a gun. There's nothing to blame for that but myself. Sometimes I feel like the world turned its back on me as a kid. I didn't get a father and I didn't keep to even keep the one greatest thing I had? How fucking  _ shitty _ . I suffered beneath the thumb of so many things and it was rough growing up the way I did. I used to think that maybe.....maybe I wouldn't have turned out to be....like _ this _ ...if I had her in my life. She'd have smacked the pale off me if I even  _ looked _ at stealing a car."

Thanking the lucky stars there was a small stall in traffic Eren gripped a fist of Levi's shirt and pulled him to his nose "I don't want to  **ever** hear you say that like it's a bad thing. You were given the world's worst luck, Levi, but we're not given more than we can handle, remember? You're who you are because of what you've been through and let tell me something about the man you are, and you better look at me and hear me when I say it because I will  **not** say it again." Eyes locking with Levi's stunned, wild blue eyes he smiled "I'm gonna  _ love _ you, Levi Ackerman, maybe not today, tomorrow, 4 days from now, next month, or a year from now but I know I'm going to. No one has ever made me feel so at home, so free, so able to be unapologetically myself and comfortable just by being at their side. You are who you are for the good and bad things you've had to pick yourself up from. Sure, it's not a good thing to ever have to happen, dealing with death of people you care about or to even be betrayed by a man you thought family, but even I am who I am today because I grew up with my parent's death like a crushing weight on my shoulders. I can tell, feel it like a magnetic pole drawing me, that it's  _ going  _ to happen. Get prepared Levi because once I fall I'm  _ never _ getting up, never letting you go."

Blinking quickly, Levi's lashes grazed his cheeks and he couldn't respond for a moment. It took him more than a moment to finally be able to find his words. First, however, no words came to mind. Instead all he wanted to do was kiss Eren's stupidly gorgeous face. Clearly wise beyond his years he couldn't stop the violent hummingbird flutter of his heart in chest. Feeling like his heart was going to come crushing through it's boned prison he pushed desperately against Eren's lips. He felt an overwhelming desire he needed to have reinforced by Eren. Tasting the sincerity of his words, feeling it demonstrated by each lazy, sloppy connection of their lips, Levi finally broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Eren's as he stared into those mesmerizing ocean eyes.

"You're going to be the death of me, Eren, I can feel that," he kissed him again sweetly "but what I feel most is that you're right. I'm going to  _ make  _ you fall in love me and I'm going to be seeing my own heels over my head before I know it. You're not going to be able to breathe without thinking of how I can stop it with a single kiss or a touch. This is the face I dream of every time I close my eyes and getting to wake up next to you is one of, if not the greatest, gift I have ever been given. Eren, it has not been long we've been seeing each other  _ officially  _ but I know that no matter how long it takes to have you love me I'm never going anywhere. I promised you I'd come back to you alive and I'm going to make you this one: by the time I love you, you'll love me, and there won't be a  _ thing  _ to stand in our way whether it be our ideas of ourselves or what other's think. No matter what, Eren Jaeger, you're going to be stuck with me for a _ lifetime. _ "

"I'm more than ready," Eren grinned "so stop talking about yourself like you're something not worth breath because your momma might have smacked the pale off you and so will  _ I _ . I chose to be with you because of your character beneath it all. Saying you're not worth a lot of things also says you doubt  _ my _ judgment and I  _ know _ you had better know than to do that to my face."

Levi couldn't help but laugh "Hahaha, you _are_ my mother. Great.....though I guess it's a good thing. You'll keep me on my toes for sure and the only thing I doubt you for was leaving your sunroof open beneath an oak tree."

Eren groaned playfully as he released him to let him drive since the traffic had died out "Oh shut it! That squirrel saved us."

"Yeah, he sure did," Levi answered softly before shifting gears and opening up the car. Airy feeling floating in his chest, levitating his heart Eren curled up against Levi. He hadn't meant to say that exactly but he didn't regret it. Levi was his perfectly flawed little diamond and no one was going to stop him from falling in love with him. The only way to keep him from feeling anything for Levi would be to make himself stop breathing. It was carved in his bones, sparkling in the stars twinkling in the night sky, and woven into his destiny. He was going to fall in love with a street racer and he wasn't in the least bit objecting to it. Levi was as good a man as any and if it was going to be him that harnessed his soul and held the key to his heart then that was more than alright with him. There was no one else he'd rather it be.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Welcome! I hope you guys are ready for this chapter. It's the second to last chapter and the thrilling conclusion to the story will be delivered Sunday. It's been real, guys, and I hope your little brains starting working by the end. 
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

During the ride Levi had come up with a new tactic for preventing Eren from freaking out in the car. Taping a risen sticky note to the speedometer preventing Eren from seeing it he was able to make sure he couldn't see how fast they were going. Even while Eren opted to drive Levi moved it so he couldn't see how much past 65 he was going. Levi still shifted for him and made sure to tell him when to press the clutch in and release it slowly. Overall they had a rather decent system to keep them driving to the best of their ability.

In fact, they'd caught up to the first position driver. A silver Bentley was in front of them though it didn't make any sense. Neither Eren nor Levi remembered seeing the car from the line up at the mansion. It didn't exactly seem like a car to be racing in either as Eren pointed out though Levi could have understood if it had modifications in the engine among others that the couldn't see. Grabbing his cell phone Levi asked him to text the license plate to the number on the note Kenny had left them with the burner Isabel had given them. 

Complying Eren fished the old phone out of the dash and began to type out the message ‘L was asking about a plate’. Within a few moments Kenny informed him it would take a little bit but he could get the information to him. Levi groaned at the length of time but decided to wait back instead of overtaking the vehicle in the race. Even Eren agreed that it would be a good idea to stake the car out and see who got out. Though it was dangerous Levi wanted to know the competition that was clearly the only worthy adversary in the entire slew of pigs Erwin had brought in for slaughter.

Levi was a man who liked to know who he was truly up against and this was the moment so they hung back in the stream of cars, letting themselves remain lost though still keeping a vigilant eye on the vehicle. As they entered the city of Portland turning down a many back roads they came across something more than a bit shady. Turning off on a route, unmarked by the navigation, and down into a narrow alley path the car slowed before coming to a gradual stop in the center of an empty parking lot. With the car's tinted windows it was hard to see inside and Levi nor Eren had any guesses as to what could be going on. If they stayed off route long enough it would send up flares to Erwin so Levi wondered who'd risk that kind of backfire.

Suddenly the burner phone rang to alert them of the incoming text. Quickly Levi snatched it from the dash and flipped it open to read the short message. Tossing it down in frustration Levi's palm slammed against the leather of the steering wheel.

Reaching over Eren placed a hand atop his shoulder "Hey, what's up?"

"The goddamn text," he grunted.

Opening the text Eren read it aloud with skepticism "Silver Bentley Continental GT registered to a Peter Brady, 58.....okay....is this referring to H.G. Wells?"

Pleasantly surprised Levi nodded "Very good, Eren, Peter Brady is the name of the scientist that, due to a radiation leak, became known as The Invisible Man. A television series was scripted and ran in 1958 hence the age. I'm not fond of the run around and this is proving to be a giant one. I don't like this one fucking bit. Mark my words there is something off about this fucking car and it's driver."

Eren hummed as he contemplated "Hmmm, we could sit here and wait it out but do you really want to waste that time when we could get ahead of them? They'll know where we are on the navigation anyway so it's better we avoid this for now."

Knowing Eren to be right Levi put the car in reverse and sighed "Sometimes I really hate it when you're right, Eren. I think it's time for us to make the last bit of this drive. Are you ready to get this fucking thing over with?"

"Is that rhetorical?" Eren mused with a grin.

"We've got about 5 hours normally but I think we can get it to 3," Levi replied with a smirk before he drove the car out of the area to go and allow themselves a moment of serenity. By that of course he'd meant simply stopping to eat. It might not have been much but it was something Eren surely wasn't about to take for granted even if Levi tried to throttle him. Chasing him around the car for swiping a dollop of whipped cream across the tip of his nose instead of kissing him Levi was incredibly far from amused while Eren cackled maniacally. Once back inside the car Levi held him down running his fingers across his hips until he begged for mercy.

Eren pouted for most of the drive to Portland. He wasn't thrilled how Levi lorded his ability to pick up on his body's erogenous zone was also one of the places he was ticklish. Those pointed little demon fingers had dug into his skin causing him to flail around like a trout out of a river. He'd been at his mercy just because of a little cream from his milkshake on the tip of his nose? Fucking asshole. He was feigning most of his annoyance and even turned to the other side of the bench seat when he laid down.

Levi sighed and kept trying to poke and prod him to get him back to his side. Puppy eyes and a pout were quickly affecting him and Eren at least discovered he was weak to something in his arsenal. Only when Levi promised him that he could drive the Camaro into the shop to fuck with Jean had he crawled back to him and smothered him with light, sweet, airy little kisses over his available skin. Laughing quietly Levi grabbed his hand and kissed the back of it before placing their connected hands on top of Eren's thigh.

For a while Eren drifted off but was soon awakened when Levi stopped the car. Glancing around could see that they were positioned near the way. His eyes, once adjusted, blinked over to the screen of the GPS and he noticed they were sitting just a block from their destination with a number one positioned as their tracker. It looked like they'd be winning this thing anyway but now there was no bomb to blow when he told them to get fucked. He wasn't truly prepared for what was going to go down but he knew he could stomach it as long as Levi was staying firmly planted by his side. As if sensing his uneasiness and shaking nerves, Levi squeezed his hand as he began to use the burner and type up message to Kenny.

Pivoting in his place Levi turned to Eren "I do not want you getting out of this car without a protection so do you remember where it is?"

Eren nodded as he tried to swallow the rising lump in his throat "Uh, yeah, I do."

Reaching across the car Levi flipped the safety off Karma and placed the pistol into his waistband "Don't worry, Eren, we're going home after this. You and me relaxing on the couch and eating pizza and fucking wherever we want. If you don't believe me when we get home I'll blow you in the Chevelle."

Trying to work out his own bone crunching nervousness Eren laughed "Haha, now I  _ know  _ you're serious." Levi pushed open the car door and brought Eren around to the hood of the car to hook his arms around his neck and kiss him passionately. Part of Eren was indulging him and kissing him back with the same amount of fervor he felt seeping into his own skin but the other knew exactly what this was and didn't want to break away from him. Without a word Levi broke the kiss and brought Eren flush against his body just to hold him for a moment. This was exactly what he was scared of. Levi was preparing to say goodbye to him and he didn't, he couldn't, hear him say it. He didn't want to have this moment ever but especially not right now at the height of his vulnerability.

Kissing him once more Levi smiled and brushed the hair away from his face "Promise me something, Eren, if things get too thick I want you to get out there. I can handle myself but, Eren, I want you to take the Camaro and get as  _ far _ away from it all as possible."

"I'm not going to leave you anywhere and I'll be  **damned** if you think you can fucking  _ make  _ me, Levi," Eren answered with a fire in his eyes. "I will not leave you just to save myself. It's not going down like that so I want you to tell me right now you'll keep your promise and then I want to know if the plan is just to walk face first into this trap or what exactly the plan is."

Levi reared back a moment, taken off guard by the sheer volume and firmness of Eren's words "Eren.....just.... _ please _ think about it. I can't make you do anything but I can make sure that I'll have you taken care of if---"

Smacking him hard on the chest with an open palm Eren wagged an index finger in his face "Oh no, Isabel said you didn't get to talk like that and I'm with her. Now, on with it."

"Promise I'm gonna come home, you fucking fireball," Levi snarked "but the plan is that there isn't one. I have a watchful eye and some people looking out so it's just going to be a going with the flow kind of thing. Whatever Kenny has planned I don't know just in case the GPS, ya know?" 

Eren nodded remembering the bug inside it "Oh yeah....now, I think it's time we collected a debt."

"Me too," Levi stated softly as Eren kissed his temple. When the two climbed back into the car Eren felt his stomach to flip. Butterflies were a thing of the past it was more like dragons flapping their massive wings stirring up gale force winds inside his gut. A wave of nausea was washing over him but he tried to suppress it the closer they began to get to the docks. The sailboats gliding across the water were magnificent and he wished there was another reason they were at the docks. He'd have loved to watch the boats coming and going through the small marina.

Out in the open Levi drive until he came across a private dock where a singular red and grey speedboat awaited them. In front of them however was a rather familiar vehicle. As Levi glanced down at the GPS system the number above their icon had switched from number one to number two the second he inched closer the silver Bentley. Whatever this was Levi had a very good inkling of and Eren could see the knowledge etching into his sharp features. Before he pushed the door open he reached over to Eren, knotted a hand in his hair and kissed him with everything he had and nodded as he pulled away preparing mentally for the moment they were about to face.

Stepping out of the Camaro Levi rounded the hood and gestured for Eren to exit the car and join him. Doing as Levi instructed he cautiously crept out of the car and moved to his side placing his arm around Levi's hips. When the two were standing still and ready they watched a back door of the silver car open as a man of a few inches taller than Eren stepped out. Dressed in khaki pants, a navy blazer, and a white undershirt the honey blonde man removed his sunglasses to reveal frighteningly piercing aqua eyes. Eren found himself shrinking back as the foreboding feeling in his stomach increased tenfold. Levi on the other hand was shaking, but not with fear if anything it was fury, so Eren placed a gentle hand atop his hand moving it from around him.

"Well, well," the man started and Eren instantly recognized it "welcome back to me Levi." Walking forward in a confident stride he extended a hand to Eren with a wickedly charismatic smile "And you must be Eren, my name is Erwin Smith, a pleasure...... _ no _ ? Whew.  _ Okay." _

Levi got a bit of a chuckle as Erwin retracted his hand "Hmph, like he'd touch you and risk contracting some plague. Please. Now, Erwin, was this little game of yours to see who could beat you if you were number one this whole time?"

"Perhaps," he answered, voice a stark contrast from it's early almost chipper tone "just wanted to see if they were worthy of the job I had in mind for them."

Eren leaned back and observed, not keen on saying too much as Levi began "Would that job happen to be running drugs for you up the Mendoza pipeline?"

Lips curling into a wickedly sinister smile Erwin nodded "Very good, Levi, you haven't dulled much in wit only action it seems. How's your dear old uncle these days?"

Rolling his eyes Levi folded his arms over his chest "Healing from a gunshot wound.”

"Ah," Erwin sucked in a breath as he paced "so you didn't enjoy the route I placed you on?  _ Shame. _ "

"Not really," Levi grinned with facetious intent "he had some just fantastically grotesque things to say about you, Erwin, though who ever has anything  _ good _ to say about you?" 

Giving it a moment of thought Erwin shrugged "Hmm, maybe Mike depending on the day?"

"How sweet," Levi groaned "a partner in love, crime, and seriously bad taste in fashion."

"Speaking of partners," Erwin grinned as he slinked up to Eren yet keeping his gaze on Levi "why won't yours speak with me?" Once those cold irises landed on Eren he spoke flatly "As your host I find that quite  _ rude _ , you know."

Before thinking any better of it Eren snarled "Well you hulking, fucking  _ buffoon, _ you know what I find rude? Strapping a goddamn  _ bomb _ on someone! By the way, you can have it back now." Flicking the clasp at the back he unhooked it and tossed it at his feet "I won't be needing it anymore."

Clearly impressed he stepped up to Eren "My, aren't you just a  _ spicy _ little thing? You may have disabled it but good luck with getting those spikes out your wrist and if they don't come out.....well, goodbye bomb but hello  _ sepsis _ . Quite a  _ nasty  _ little tic isn't it?"

"Back the fuck up, Erwin," Levi demanded as he placed an arm between them.

"Awww, come now, Levi the other one at least had the decency to  _ speak _ to me a time or two before her cuff detonated," Erwin provoked with an infuriating few words.

Levi's jaw clenched as he stiffened "Don't you fucking  **dare** ."

Erwin released a throaty laugh "Haha, tsk, tsk, Levi, holding a candle for an old flame while a new one stands at your side. Does he know he'll always be  _ second _ in your heart? He'll always have Petra's ghost lingering over him forcing him into her shadow."

Placing a hand on Erwin's chest as he shoved, sending him off balance momentarily, Eren sneered "I don't want to ever you fucking say that name to me either." Standing in front of Levi he placed both hands on the sides of Levi's face "Look at me, don't you let him in your head, okay? Listen. I know you loved her and you always will. We carry people with us and I admire the passion you have but I know that I will  _ always  _ come first."

Whispering by his ear Erwin clucked his teeth "Tch, are you so  _ sure _ of that? I mean, you don't really know the man until you know his sins."

"I don't give a _ fuck _ about his sins. His past does  **not** make him who he is!" Eren all but shouted as he shook his head.

"Funny, you care so much," he snickered bitterly "but what if that sin was  _ conning you _ , Eren? Did you ever even stop to think that if he wants to kill me he'd simply use you as the scapegoat? Leaving you to fall with blood on your hands?"

Eren took no time to respond "No. I didn't think that at all because it's impossible. I know better than that. I trust Levi more so than I'd ever trust anything out of your vacuous mouth! Oh," Eren paused with a fake grin "I'm sorry, did you not understand? Vacuous means vapid....oh darn, I did it again.... _ stupid _ . It means nothing out of your mouth is more than contrite bullshit."

"Well," Erwin chuckled "two of us here attended institutes of higher learning---"

"Being accepting and attending simply because your father worked there are two  _ vastly _ different things," Levi interrupted.

"Ouch, I got in on my own merit thank you very much, Levi," Erwin sneered slightly beneath his jest "but all our dancing aside, Levi, you still won. I have your prize money in the backseat in a locked case. My job offer stands as it did all those years ago. Come back and  _ work _ for me, Levi, you'll never have to worry about a thing again. We'll put our pasts in the past where they belong and strive to make a new empire. You're both smart men and I can use brawn and brain in my organization so bring Eren too. You both will have a life fit for kings doing what you love."

Sliding to stand at Eren's side Levi placed a hand at the small of his back, his fingers curling around Karma's grip "What do  _ you _ think, Eren?"

Eren shrugged before he kissed Levi's cheek and answered "I think it's time Karma collects her debt." Levi whisked the pistol from the back of his jeans as he watched Erwin's expression falter only to laugh. A cruel, spiteful sound echoed hollow from his throat as he almost couldn't believe the situation. Eren had never seen anyone had a gun pulled on them in a situation like this, only been at the other end, but this felt wrong. Something in his gut was screaming, clawing up his esophagus and telling him to run. This situation was wrong! Glancing sideways he noticed a flicker of light at the back of Levi's shirt.....a tiny, glowing, fluorescent red dot.

Horror registered on Eren's face yet he found himself frozen, rooted to the spot in which he stood while Erwin's cackle only increased in volume. His air supply was shortening as he had sharp intakes of breath on each laugh and the only thing Eren could do was stare. He wanted to scream at Levi, shove him, just make him move! Yet nothing sounded from his throat. No squeak, no gasp, nothing at all as his face only revealed a pained, mortified expression. Almost feeling the same foreboding, nagging feeling Levi twisted his gaze to Eren and saw the wide-eyed fear exhibited in those watering, turquoise eyes.

In the moment Levi lowered the barrel of his pistol as he examined Erwin's left hand, a shot pierced violently through the air, and Eren was finally able to move. Images blurring around him, the world spinning faster on it's axis, Eren found himself unable to breathe and suddenly on the dirt with an unknown sticky, warmth bathing his back. Why did his chest feel as if someone poured acid down his throat? A sensation like nothing he'd ever felt ripped through his back before settling into his chest. He blinked slowly as his breath only came to him in short bursts and it was then he realized what happened. Staring up at Levi's eyes widened in an array of fury, to shame, to remorse, to an indescribable amount of pain Eren reached up a hand to his cheek.

Calling out from behind him Erwin continued to laugh raucously " **AHAHAHA!** Levi you never learn. After the first time did you not think I'd bring firepower? I have a sniper on that roof, turn and wave to Mike if you'd like, I'm sure he'd love to say " _ hi. _ " You shouldn't have said no to me, Levi, since I knew your little pup would freeze. The best part was seeing your expression as that bullet tore into his back! He was too worried about the one on you to bother thinking if he was a target too. Naivety is such a  _ pathetic _ quality in humans."

Screaming violently, fury and rage lighting his blood, Levi looked over to him " **You petty fucking coward! I'm gonna kill you myself!** "

"Actually, I got this one, son," Kenny grinned as the muzzle of his pistol pressed firmly to the base Erwin's skull "you just say the word."

"How quaint," Erwin chuckled "a family reunion. You should really be  _ thanking  _ me for this moment. If it wasn't for me it wouldn't be possible."

"No," Kenny spat "if it weren't for  _ Eren _ it'd be impossible. Now, unfortunately for you, I happen to like that kid and you just threatened my  _ son  _ so while you brought your sniper.....I brought one of my own, along with the men scaling the stairs inside that building in case he misses. You might want to watch this show. Say " _ bye, honey! _ " Kenny directed his gaze to the top of the building where Mike was positioned with a rifle. Having snuck up the moment the shot hit Kenny was able to turn the tides. Gritting his teeth through the pain Eren's fingers wrapped loosely around Karma's hilt while Levi was too busy being lost in the argument between the men. He was thankful for the cover though as Kenny seemed to be doing a good job at keeping them distracted. 

Whispering as best he could, Eren returned Levi's face to his own "Sorry for the muzzle burn. I can't hold her well and need a brace." Levi's brows knit in confusion as the hand on his face weakly pulled him down by the back of the neck. Just as he heard the second shot of the evening he jumped and began to feel a sharp sting against his ribs. Jerking his head back as he heard a loud thud he saw one sight he'd never thought he'd see: Erwin on the ground, blood expanding profusely from a pool around his body and Kenny's hands in the air. Looking back to Levi Eren smirked "Does that count as  _ my _ Karma?"

"Shhh," he demanded as he slid the pistol from his limp grasp "you need to shut up and _ look _ at me. I'm going to forgive you for the horrid feeling on my left side but you gotta make it up to me by staying awake and not doing anything. I need to get you on your side. I'm not gonna forget you taking my mark either, you little shit, now you're gonna be okay.....okay? Are you  _ listening _ to me?" Eren wasn't. His focus wasn't lingering so much on his words only on his face. He truly did have such striking, regal features with the sharp protrusions rising beneath his porcelain skin. At that moment he felt the tear of something causing him to curse out in a shrew, disgruntled scream. It wasn't too much to want to simply watch Levi's face.....to map out all the perfect little details or the flaws like the slight depression in his skin above his brow piercing or the fact only the left side of his lip rose when he snarled, was it?

No. It wasn't too much. At least he thought it wasn't. Wasn't that what people often did before their deaths? Find the small things in their life and try to cling to them with all their might no matter how far they were slipping from them? Shouldn't be allowed that same courtesy? Leave it to Levi to try to kill him faster by delaying his comforts. He supposed it wasn't too bad though, all the excruciating burning sensations and the terrifying feeling of the scorching blood pouring down his back, sticking his clothes to his skin, had subsided. Knowing he was on the cusp of consciousness, fading between life and death, he did the only thing he wanted to with the last amount of strength he could summon: as Levi was hunched over him, he smiled, and when the copper tinge in his mouth was no longer present he kissed Levi softly before all vision and sense of touch vanished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please. Do. Not. Kill. Me. 
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -inhales deeply- Well, here we are folks. It's been a long road and I cannot fathom the amount of love this story has received. Thank you for taking the journey with me. It has been an absolute pleasure to share this world with you but all good things must come to an end and today Fast Cars & Freedom will end. 
> 
> ~Hugs & Kisses,  
> ❤♠Neko❤♠

"Did you arrive fully intending on killing Erwin Smith?" Asked the tall brunette, his sunken hazel eyes lingering uncomfortably on him from behind the oaken stand.

Levi shook his head softly "No, sir."

"Is it true that you and he were once business partners in a criminal enterprise?" The lawyer asked him flatly.

With the eyes of the jury on him Levi sighed "No, sir, I worked for him. We we never partners."

Pacing in front of him the man gestured a palm to the panel of twelve people to his left "And can you tell the jury the date of that please?"

Adjusting himself Levi shrugged his shoulders "Uh, not exactly. It was quite a long time ago."

"Ballpark it for us," he stated.

Levi wracked his brain trying to recall the year "Hmmm, I believe around 2005, sir."

"So," he began, voice flat as he looked both to the jury and to Levi "a little around 10 years ago you trafficked drugs for Mr. Smith?"

"That's correct," Levi answered "I was arrested, convicted, and served my time in San Quintin."

The lawyer stopped in front of him "I saw that, Mr. Ackerman, but this is the thing; you have a history of violent crime. A criminal who had an extra year tacked onto that very sentence for assaulting man with a pipe in a prison mechanic shop after he spoke negatively about your ex-girlfriend, Petra Ral, who was coincidentally the reason for your first charge of involuntary, vehicular manslaughter. Also you're a suspect in other crimes. You don't seem to be the best kind of credible witness."

"Counselor," Levi addressed the man facetiously "I do believe lawyers ask questions and I didn't hear yours."

"Forgive me," he stated "I suppose you've been in  _ enough  _ courtrooms to know that. My question, Mr. Ackerman, is this: How is the jury supposed to believe a criminal who is also suspected in 3 murders himself? It could also be said that you blamed Erwin Smith for the death of your ex-girlfriend and sought revenge. Isn't true you believed him responsible for her death?"

Levi straightened his tie and cleared his throat " I believe those are missing persons cases, sir, the bodies have never been found. That also serves no relevance to this case in question....yes, that's right, some of us have had a lot of time to study the law. I've never _ claimed _ to be a good person on this stand but I know a good man when I see him. Eren Jaeger is not someone who pulled that trigger that day with malicious intent. Bad deeds done by good men are often sacrifices they make to protect what they love. We ask the same of the men and women serving our country everyday. Now, you asked if I believe Erwin Smith to be responsible for Petra Ral's death and the answer is  _ yes, _ but I also believe in karma and reincarnation so with any luck he'll be a maggot feasting on the rotting  _ asshole _ of a skunk carcass in the next life."

"Ah," the man shook his head trying to swat away his mental image "so you believe Mr. Jaeger shot Mr. Smith in fear of his own life that day, 5 weeks ago?"

"And for my own, yes sir, I do," Levi stated.

Giving him a nod, the man moved on "It was stated earlier that Mr. Smith had paid the man atop the adjacent rooftop to shoot on his signal. What exactly was that signal and can you demonstrate it for us?" 

Standing and perfecting his posture along with his black suit Levi kept his arms straight at his side abiding by the directions "Standing straight, Erwin performed a very minuscule action of exhibiting two fingers on his left hand before crossing his middle finger atop the ring finger aimed in the direction of his hit."

"When did he do this?" He gestured towards the chair behind the oak box "You may return to your seat."

"After I refused his invitation to work for him," Levi answered as he took his seat, tossing his left leg overtop his right.

Stepping towards the television rolled into the courtroom the man pressed the power button "Let's play the video that was admitted into evidence by an anonymous tipster reporting us to the building's old security camera." While the grainy footage showed the moment Levi speaking with Erwin it skipped. Only Levi and Eren would have caught it but that footage had been doctored and he knew the one man who'd told him about the camera could have done it: Kenny. Levi had to restrain his smirk as all evidence of him pulling his gun had been removed. The only thing it showed was the moment from Erwin's signal to the next moment of Eren falling to the ground.

" _ There, _ " Levi had offered pointing at the screen "just before Eren hits the dirt from the force of the shot."

Using a finger the lawyer pointed at the moment Erwin's fingers crossed "Do you not suppose he was simply scratching an itch on his leg or a simple fidget? How do you know that this gesture is meant to be for the gunman on the roof to take a shot?"

"Because, sir, when I worked for him he taught us that signal at meeting drops to get the drugs over borders. We never traveled alone and if we needed out were taught to give that signal when in distress if we needed backup," Levi answered. 

Dismissing him from the stand the man allowed Levi to return to the audience of spectators "Thank you, Mr. Ackerman, that'll be all." While Levi stepped back to the front row of seating he gave Eren a reassuring smile. He hated seeing him in a such a state, handcuffed hands resting daintily in his lap, olive jumpsuit that clashed with his eyes, but what he did love was seeing how his eyes still sparkled with so much more than he'd admitted to his face when their eyes met. He wanted to hop that barrier, pick those cuffs, and kiss him stupid.

It had been 5 weeks; he'd been unable to touch him. He was the one used to being on the other side of things and he preferred it that way. The only good thing was while he was healing they couldn't have placed him in jail while he awaited trial. He had to be in the hospital but even then he hadn't gotten much in the way of contact. Levi had the duty to inform Eren's sister about what happened and he could still feel her piercing gaze slitting his throat. Marco had promised to have everything taken care of and luckily for Eren he happened to know a lawyer who didn't mind using the 5 week healing period to get certified to practice criminal law in Washington State.

Bertholdt was an amazing lawyer and he was thankful he was on their side. The prosecutor, this district attorney, reminded him of the man he'd had the unfortunate pleasure of being on the other end of in California. He was wanting to clean up the streets even if it meant trying to prosecute a kid who shot in self defense. Anyone could see that was the case here but a man up for re-election and a potential murder gets slapped on his table he's taking it to make himself look good. Levi knew this jackass was an idiot but damn, chances were he was just in Erwin's pocket as the last had been. This was a witch hunt meant to drag Eren's name through the mud.

It drove him mad but he knew people these days had a little sense. Anyone could see that the argument they had enough time to scamper away was a lollipop triple dipped in bullshit and sprinkled with a hint of trying too hard. Not wanting it to continue to get under his skin any longer he turned to Bertholdt, an incredibly tall brunette in a charcoal and lavender suit with soft caramel eyes perfect for persuading the jury, who began to deliver his closing argument.

"Ladies and gentleman of the jury," he began softly, edging his voice in a thick honey "as you can see my client, Eren Jaeger, is a good man. He's never done a thing out of line in his life, not even so much as a parking ticket or citation for littering. The evening in question he was only trying to protect his boyfriend and himself from being further injured. There was no vicious intent of murder here, only a man trying to keep what he loved safe even as he, himself, believed he was dying. Thank you." When he rejoined them at the table Levi had to raise both brows and nod. Goddamn. The man was good. His expression soon soured as the DA tried to pull some woven conspiracy web out of his ass that Levi had orchestrated the entire thing but it was Eren who pulled the trigger. Levi was beginning to think he had room to fill on his last tally.

The jury moved out to deliberate for a half hour but the moment they filed back into the room the judge addressed the courtroom "Foreman of the jury, have you reached your decision?"

An elder woman in a petal pink pantsuit nodded, swinging silver hair over her shoulder "We have your honor."

"In the case of Eren Jaeger, murder in the second degree, how do you find?" The baritone echoed in the room, effectively both silencing the room and forcing Levi's stomach to scream.

"We the jury," she began "find the defendant not guilty." No longer able to restrain his enthusiasm Levi placed a hand on the short wooden railing and swung his legs over it. Unable to hear the rest of anything he placed a hand to Eren's cheek wiping his tears as he kissed him. A taste he'd missed for so long was his to claim again. His and his alone. Eren was opening his mouth to say something about getting the cuffs off him so Bertholdt waved over the bailiff but instead Levi popped a bobby pin from his hair and picked the mechanism, springing the metal free. Levi grinned when he looked at the judge who just hung his head and gave a short chortle.

As the celebration died the judge cleared his throat "Eren Jaeger, you have been found not guilty of murder in the second degree. You are free to go. Please, next time you a plan a trip to my state be careful of those past ties your lover carries."

Eren smiled brightly, tears shimmering as they strolled down his face "Thank you, sir, and if it means anything I have a very interesting souvenir from my time in Washington so I think this state and I  _ won't _ be seeing anymore of each other."

Levi wrapped his arms around his waist and kissed him softly "Let's get you the _ fuck  _ out of here. Ready to go home, babe?"

"I've been ready for 5 weeks," he answered softly pulling Levi flush to his chest.

 

* * *

 

Eating dinner, Eren's eyes flickered to Levi who was all smiles. He hadn't wanted to fly back home but Levi told him he hadn't driven and the Camaro had been parked at the garage. It had soured his win a little but getting to spend the time with him right afterwards had unfurrowed his brow a bit. He used to pride himself saying that he had all his original parts due to never having surgery but he couldn't exactly say that any longer. Discovering upon waking the barbs in his wrist had to be surgically removed, there was a sliver of shrapnel too close to the center of his spinal cord to remove, they had to put a cage around two discs in his back that had been practically obliterated by the bullet, oh and that they had to remove a kidney. Eren hadn't exactly known how to react when he woke from surgery to that news but mostly the handcuff on his wrist and armed guards outside his room was another thing completely. 

After having felt like he was in a hostel that had replaced a kidney with a piece of shrapnel he learnt that walking wasn't something he was used to. Physical therapy put him through hell and his back ached with each rise of the sun but Kenny had come through for him in more than one way. Leaving a note with a bank card inside he'd taken Erwin's briefcase out of the car, kept a little to himself, but also used it to pay Eren's medical bills, his tuition, what was left on his car, and put the rest in a bank account with the name "Peter Brady." He laughed at the little easter egg and knew that it wasn't only Kenny behind it all. 

Levi had come to visit him nearly everyday, aside from a weekend or two, even with the rule, due to him technically being in jail, that he wasn't allowed to have any contact. Just before the trial that bit had sunk in clear as day as he was booked and placed in a holding cell until his trial. The flowers, sitting close by him for an hour at a time, and sometimes just stopping by to sit silently by him as he slept had allowed him to ignore it. Levi had done so much for him. According to him they couldn't find the gun he'd used and that was because Levi had taken Karma back with him, stripped her down to pieces, and tossed her in various parts of the glades.  Marco had squinted a bit at that, his glades were not for murder tools and all, but he had been happy to see him nonetheless.

Other interesting moments had happened when Mikasa came to see him and screamed mercilessly at him to the point of the guards refusing to walk in from outside. After she made sure that he was alright it was a whirlwind of having to recount what happened and he'd never been so thankful for Levi being late. For a moment he'd thought he'd have had to call the guards in to keep her from choking Levi to death. It had taken a while but everyone seemed to have accepted the flow of things even Eren himself. He'd decided he wasn't going to be in a hospital for very long as his healing process was long, arduous, and confining. Calling up Bert was the easiest choice he'd ever made and then physical therapy, when compared to a murder trial, seemed far easier on him.

In the end all had been well that ended well and the next day after the trial he was home. Home was wherever Levi was and at the moment it was at a small cafe where they were having lunch after Levi had taken him for a nice little addition to his body.

"So, Eren," Levi spoke with a grin "how's your neck?"

Brushing his hair away from the black line down the center of his neck with the words _“Debt Collected”_ beneath it, he flinched "A little sore still."

"Ah, come on," Levi snickered "you got shot, a little tattoo shouldn't turn you into a bitch."

"Hey asshole!" Eren narrowed his eyes "I went to  _ jail _ for you."

Levi rolled his eyes "You spent 3 hours in a holding cell, my poor, little baby." Reaching beneath the table he removed a square, shamrock colored, wrapped present and slid it to Eren "I forgot to tell you but this came in the mail about a week ago. Mikasa insisted we frame it so I had it done but she also insists that it go in your office." Confused Eren took the, suspiciously, lofty present and cleared away the paper. Inside the cherry wood frame was his degree. Levi had to have sent in his thesis in order for him to receive it......it also somehow meant he'd known he'd finished typing his thesis while they had been driving in google documents. That asshole had gone through his shit!

Eren graciously accepted the gift with a tear in his eye before his eyes narrowed at Levi "Thank you.....but you read my fucking thesis didn't you!"

With a little exaggerated grin Levi flourished a wrist "Hmm...maybe. _‘Although crime may increase and drive business values down, it is in my humble opinion that with a place to call their own street racers would become criminals of the past. After all, they're only human, they make mistakes, and they're just searching to find their place to have their peace.’"_

As Levi smugly rattled off the ending of his thesis Eren tugged at his own hair and hit his head against the frame in his hands "God! I fucking hate you....oh my god, I hate you  _ so _ much."

Voice airy Levi replied in a teasing, sing-songy tone "That's not what you said on the staaanndddd! _Under oath._ In front of a judge and a jury of peers."

Quickly mumbling through a clenched jaw Eren huffed "Maybe I fucking _perjured_ myself!"

"No, no," Levi started "you said a month and some change ago that you were going to love me and then what did you have to say on the stand when they asked if I was your boyfriend and if you loved me? C'mon......say it. My ego needs it, Eren, and do it and I'll give you a  _ surprise _ ."

Prodding him Levi pushed and so Eren relented "I said I loved you but I'm starting to  _ reconsider _ it right about now."

"Well, you remember when I said the moment you discovered you loved me I'd say that you knew I loved you? Well I haven't gotten to show you  _ anything  _ yet." Eren was instructed to finish the rest of his meal before he took him to whatever this grand surprise was that was awaiting him. Agreeing to the terms of this surprise he finished eating and got into the passenger seat of the Camaro. He was beginning to get drowsy thanks to his medication but luckily when he picked up on the roads they were taking he perked up a bit. Levi was taking him back to his place. This was either about to get very good or very bad. 

Upon rolling into the gravel drive Levi stopped just short of the garage and got out of the car. While he unlocked the garage he gave Eren the go-to wave to drive the Camaro in so, with an unnatural amount of pleasure, he slid behind the wheel and carefully urged the car inside the garage. Levi followed the car in and shut the garage door behind them. 

As Eren carefully shut off the engine and got out of the car Levi placed his hands at his hips and whispered "Close your eyes and stand right where I stop you." Having no other choice to obey Eren huffed playfully and closed his eyes wondering just where Levi was leading him to in the cluttered garage. For a moment he heard a strange mix of bangs and clangs around the garage but held to his word and kept his eyes closed until Levi's voice rose "Alright, open." Eren opened his eyes just in time to see Levi whisk the cover off his now fully complete Civic. It wasn't the only thing around him that was beginning to make him tear up.

Scanning the garage he was among his friends, he was at the center of his family. Mikasa was the first one there to wrap her arms around him and welcome him back home before Armin was the next to wrap around him. A sight that took him off guard, one that Marco neglected to mention on his visit, was that Marco's arm was securely wrapped around Jean's hips. He watched Marco grin so widely before kissing Jean's forehead only to have him swat him away. Eren laughed and turned to see Hanji sprinting almost full speed before flinging herself to him. He gave a soft groan as her embrace was a bit much in his current state but relented and shot Bertholdt and Reiner a nod as they laid back in the crowd. Gunther and Eld were there raising a beer to him before Eld smacked him hard on the back.

Releasing a sound that was more wounded moose and less human he narrowed his eyes towards the blonde. Eld had forgotten it seemed and winced before apologizing profusely.

Isabel was blubbering but managed to softly squeeze him "Thank you Eren, for bringing Levi home safely," it was then her features sharpened and she sent a hard smack to the back of his head "but that was  **not** a loophole to get yourself fucking shot! What the **fuck** Eren! I will not abide by this kind of stupidity in my family. Get with the program!" 

Knowing that it was her own form of care he nodded "I'm sorry."

Mika glared "I'm with Red even though you could have let Levi take the bullet... god knows we might have had it easier."

Eren scowled "Not nice, Mika, could you  _ not _ talk about the man I love like that?"

Her eyes widened before falling "Oh lord.....okay, fine but I don't have to get along all the time right?"

"Just play nice please," he wheezed as Farlan coiled around him.

"Well, welcome back," he began and gestured to Marco's sister and her blonde companion "it looks like we got a new mechanic and racer to our outfit while you've been gone. And that thing you asked me to do with Marco when you called the burner has been done."

Levi could plan surprises but so could Eren "Thanks I think you should give Levi the keys to the building and our new racer, Ymir, and can join us for a little square off."

Marco stepped over with Jean in tow "Mhmm, I think that's a good idea. Good to see you back, champ. I can't believe you did all the things you did."

"You mean get over a fear of cars, race the Camaro, get shot, kill a guy, saw a bomb off my wrist, get arrested, get put through a murder trial, and buy the love of my life a race track with the remaining money we won from the race? Yeah....it's been a  _ long _ few weeks," Eren grinned as Levi faltered pouring his beer.

Walking up to him Levi shook his head " _ I'm sorry?!  _ What was that last part?"

"I love you, Levi, and without you I damn sure wouldn't be who I am as I stand here," taking the keys from Farlan he dropped them into Levi's palm "so to show my appreciate for both you, and racing, Marco found an old little drag strip that was begging to be redone. I called Farlan and Isabel, I'm good with numbers remember, and asked them to look into it. Marco was the one who set it all up and had it be remodeled while you were busy on my car. You're going to be the first one on the track and Kenny sends regards as well though I may have sold our combined souls when I sent him a letter agreeing to go see him for your birthday."

Immediately wrapping his arms around Eren and kissing him deeply, Levi smiled brightly "Thank you for everything. I can't believe how much you changed in such a short while. I believe I speak for everyone here when I say that it's good to have you back home, baby." There was a cheer and the raising of solo cups before Levi continued "So, I'll be the one to say that without you I wouldn't be the man I want to be. You make me strive to be someone worthy of having you beside me. I love everything about you from your laughter, when you get rambunctious and decide to fuck with me, even those times you had panic attacks in the car. Every part of you may not be perfect but with you I have everything I have ever wanted out of life and so much more. My partner in crime, in racing, and most importantly in life. I love you, Eren Jaeger."

Pretending he wasn't blushing nor crying Eren buried his head against his neck "I love you too, you fucking idiot. You have the world's most insane baggage and you suck at emotions but lately you're doing better. Rough edges, flaws, and clouded moral system included to me you're so much more than your past mistakes but they've molded you into the man I can't live without.....or might have died for. Now, stop making me cry like an asshole and let's go to the track."

"You got it baby," he chuckled kissing his temple "now, you get to pick, do you want to drive your car, the Camaro--"

"You pick. In the coming weeks we can open it to the public and charge our admission for all day racing. Reiner got the permits and everything so it's legal but let's go do all the illegal shit we can before we open, with safety parameters of course." He pivoted on his heels to give Jean a grin "I just wanna smoke Two-Bit though then you guys can do whatever you want there." 

Jean's toothy grin nearly engulfed the entirety of his face "I  _ owe _ you a beat down anyway for fucking with me and sending me those snapchats! You're fucking on, Jaeger!" A bit giddy Eren followed Levi as he did the one thing he'd never thought he'd do. 

Flipping the lights off the Chevelle, skimming a hand beneath the candy apple red bumper, he removed and tossed the keys to Eren "That deserves to be marked by a grand occasion. If you're gonna race, you're gonna do it right, now take these keys and let's go smoke the punk."

Catching them with ease as everyone was getting into the cars Eren snickered "Do I also get what you  _ owe _ me in this car?"

Whispering as he opened the passenger door Levi nipped at his ear " _ Later, _ right now I want you to take me to this racers heaven you've given me and the entire community. You’ve officially given me all I’ve ever wanted in life." As Eren put the keys into the ignition, Levi kissed his cheek, and he felt the car vibrate knowing this was going to be a fun day. He could finally feel what Levi had talked about when his hands were on the wheel. The roar of the engine felt as though it was conjoined with his heart as it thumped violently in his chest in unison. With Levi's hand on his knee as he shifted into gear swiftly and pulled out of the garage he felt like this was where he belonged at last, at Levi's side and with his family. Racers might have been the bane before but now that he was practically one of them? He had begun to see things bathed in a new pearlescent lighting.

Perhaps life wasn't always about understanding but about accepting. Accepting the things that can't be changed and accepting the help and love that are deserved. Eren had spent weeks coming to terms with his own emotions and had then stood on the stand and declared his feelings for Levi in a courtroom full of people. In the beginning Levi had forced his way into his personal life with his brash attitude, a pistol, and his fast cars. Now, there was the love of that very magnificent man who'd given him so much freedom. With the love of Levi had come the freedom from the shackles of his own soul crushing, crippling phobia, from the fear of loving someone more than himself, and from his hatred that weighed him down, that began to take over his life. It seemed that with the love of a man like Levi Ackerman came the new taste, the new appreciation, and the new love, of fast cars and freedom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thus, another curtain has fallen on one of my stories. Thank you all for taking this ride with me. I hope you found it worth it and I hope you enjoyed it. I started this story back in early 2015 but I never shared it. I'd never even developed it. After 6 chapters I simply stored it away to work on other things but thanks to some encouragement I dusted it off and revived it. Without your love and support this story would cease to exist, guys, so from the bottom of my heart thank you. I loved this story and, like everything I write, it carries a piece of me in it. Some of you will give a little piece of yourselves to it as well and I hope that you can look back on this story and remember it fondly. Thank you as always for your seemingly endless love and support. I love you guys so much. With this, I leave you on another work and look forward to entertaining you again.
> 
> ~All My Love,  
> Kat Arcadia Theirin AKA Neko


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